Royals
by shinygyarados03
Summary: A loud tear echoed off the tile walls and pieces of clothing went flying, and suddenly the nicely sized toilet was a crumbled mass of porcelain and leaking water, and as Ahala looked down at her hands, she didn't find them - she found paws. Jacob/OC.
1. Big, Furry Surprise

"_i wanna hide the truth_

_i wanna shelter you_

_but with the beast inside_

_there's nowhere we can hide"_

_ -Demons by Imagine Dragons_

**Chapter I – Big, Furry Surprise.**

When it happened, Ahala had been curled up in front of her laptop. She had awoke to a pounding head and a burning chest, so she had stayed home from school and hoped to recover the next day. But as the hours ticked by, the pain only seemed to intensify.

She had just been reaching for her phone to call her mother when the burning suddenly burst from her chest in a flurry of raging flames across her shoulders and her thighs and her toes and _oh god _she was going to be sick all over her bed if she didn't get to the bathroom in time –

Tripping on her comforter in her rush, her black-rimmed glasses flew off her face and off into a region unknown, and as she crawled towards her bathroom she could feel something rising inside of her; it didn't feel like bile, but what else was she going to make of it? The most she could think to do at that point was sit in front of the toilet and pray to God it wasn't cancer.

Her fingers found the cool linoleum of the bathroom, and a within a few paces she was in front of her toilet. Thrusting the seat up, she began to retch; nothing came out, but she could still feel something coming. The burning touched every part of her; it was like she had been tossed into one of the huge bonfires people sometimes had down on the beach. She had never felt anything like this before, and she could only hope that her body built an immunity to it after this little bout; the thought of having it again was almost as sickening as the illness itself.

There; something was finally coming up. It was like a hook had been dragged through her body, taking up all the burning and putting it all –

A loud tear echoed off the tile walls and pieces of clothing went flying, and suddenly the nicely sized toilet was a crumbled mass of porcelain and leaking water, and as Ahala looked down at her hands, she didn't find them - she found paws.

She screamed, but all that came out was a loud bark.

Ahala had always been able to keep a level head; when her dad died, she didn't bury herself in that pain. When boyfriends broke up with her, she cried a little and got over it. When she saw blood or injured herself, the only tears that sprung to her eyes were the impulsive stinging ones.

But in that moment, all those things that had been under her belt vanished. Blackness engulfed her vision and she slipped into a nothingness that was welcome after those few horrifying moments.

* * *

Ahala awoke on an unfamiliar couch in an unfamiliar living room. Muffled voices carried from somewhere in the house, but she didn't recognize any. It felt as if she had never fainted; the image of two furry paws before her rested in her mind like a two ton weight, but now as she looked down at her copper-fleshed hands she shook her head.

"Ahala." The voice was a deep baritone, and it scared her out of her examination.

As she looked up at the tanned man standing in the archway, she _did _recognize him; it was Sam Uley. Local hero, rumored drug dealer; but as she thought back to her furry paws and the burning pain she knew that one out of those two things weren't true. Bone-shaking fear began to tremble through her.

He came to sit down next to her, and uncomfortably, she shifted; she noticed that she was not wearing her clothes anymore, but a large, baggy t-shirt that must've belonged to Sam. If she wasn't already terrified, she would've been terrified. Bringing her knees to her chest, she rested her chin between them and waited for Sam to say what he needed to say.

"I know you're scared right now," He said quietly. "We all were, at first. But once you know everything and get the hang of changing, it'll all be okay." She silently appreciated him for not making her meet his eyes; she might've started crying.

With a shaky voice, she said, "Explain,"

Without so much as a nod, he jumped into an explanation; it was like he had written a speech. She thought that he must've had to say it a lot; even she, who had once been an outsider to the mystical world she was just discovering, had noticed the frequent changes in the kids on the res. There were three in particular, but she couldn't remember their names…

It felt like hours passed before Sam neared the end of his speech, and she had to give it to him, she felt very informed; shocked and a little freaked out, but thoroughly informed. She understood what had happened in a clear way, and considerably less terrified. Letting her legs fall from her chest, she faced him now. "So I'm a werewolf, and I'm the first female wolf, and you'll teach me the patrol schedule?"

Sam nodded, offering a tight smile. "Yes."

Just as she began to smile back – tentatively – a loud banging came from the other side of the house. "We heard there's a new one! Who's the lucky guy?" Came a voice; Ahala stayed in her seat as Sam stood, just in time to greet three more tanned bodies.

"Paul, Jared, Embry," Sam said a bit formally, "you boys always have perfect timing," he glanced over his shoulder at Ahala, who looked like a kicked puppy as she realized his silent order: _stand. _"I'm sure you all know Ahala."

"You're that chick who got suspended for writing about the principal being sexist!"

"I saw you fall down the stairs once,"

"You're a _chick?"_

Ahala wrinkled her nose; she had never been good at first impressions. From what Sam had said, she would have to get to know these guys on a level that she had never known anyone before, so she supposed first impressions weren't that important in this kind of situation. Nevertheless, though, it still irked her.

"Nice…to see you guys again, I guess." She said, with a shrug.

The bigger one, Paul, smiled widely. "Nice to see you too, little lady," he added a wink, which frankly, made Ahala want to crawl out of her skin for a little while; no doubt he was the sleaze ball of the Pack.

Jared snorted, and bumped Paul's shoulder with his. "She's out little _sister _now, idiot. Don't hit on her." But he himself sent an admiring glance towards her. Sam seemed to catch that as well, and stepped in front of her protectively.

"Just as you respect each other, you will respect her." He said in an authoritative tone.

Embry, smallest and youngest of the guys, smiled shyly. Endeared, Ahala smiled back brightly and waved; she thought back to her schoolyard crush on him. It had been ages ago, fifth or sixth grade, and she hadn't really even known him. He had just been really cute and unattainable, and that was exactly Ahala's type.

Having seen the exchange, Paul wooed petulantly. "We've got a pair of lovers on our hands!"

Embry scowled and punched his shoulder and said, "Don't rag because no one ever taught you common courtesy."

"Common courtesy is for common people,"

"We're supposed to be common, Paul."

"But we're not! We turn into giant fucking wolves and protect the res from _vampires_."

Sam sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, and Ahala covered her mouth to hide her smile. Jared gave a parting wave and disappeared into the next room, leaving Embry and Paul to argue and Sam and Ahala to listen to them.

"Okay, I see what you're saying Paul, but what I'm saying is –"

"I don't care! I'm right and you're wrong, end of it."

Embry clenched his fists. "_What I'm saying is –"_

"Nope." Paul smirked down at the smaller wolf with his arms crossed; Ahala could see that Paul found some kind of sadistic joy in pissing people off, and began to giggle a little –

Embry shot forward so fast that he was a blur. Ten seconds passed, and Sam was racing after an enraged Embry and a struggling Paul out of the living room. Ahala's stomach had dropped somewhere behind her as she sprinted – uncaring of the revealing t-shirt – the way they had gone.

The front door was ajar, nearly off its hinges, and outside was a sight that Ahala would never forget:

A large grey wolf clamping down on a tan wolf's neck and something must've gone wrong because the tan wolf went limp and Sam was yelling and the grey wolf glanced to him and then Ahala in the doorway. In his dark eyes she could see him; it was Paul, and behind his goofy exterior there was anger so much that it spilled from his eyes and pooled into hers.

It occurred to her right then, standing in that doorway, that there was a _reason _they were all here; to protect the res, of course, but another one too. There was a reoccurring trait in all of them that in that one, defining moment Ahala realized that to be alive in them, it had to be alive in her.

Anger filled their hearts to the brim.

* * *

**A/n: **this is a story I wrote a long, long time ago. It's obviously rewritten, but the whole idea sort of makes me cringe; right now I'm on a quest to complete all of my unfinished stories from when I was younger. I'm going to warn you right now - this story is in no way prepared for the reader's eye and is unedited, save for the dividers between sections.

reviews are always welcome, but this is posted more for myself than anything.


	2. One Thing After Another

"_in the morning i'll be with you_

_but it will be a different kind_

_i'll be holding all the tickets_

_and you'll be owing all the fines"_

_ -Skinny Love by Bon Iver _

**Chapter II – One Thing After Another.**

Five days had passed, and Ahala was just getting the hang of phasing. She was worlds away from her little house with her mother and La Push high and the vending machine in the corner store she used to stop by before school – it was almost mythical; scratch that, it _was _mythical. She turned into a giant wolf and stayed up late prancing around the forest to make sure no vampires were around, and there never seemed to be.

Everything was going pretty normal (according to Sam), save the fact that she hadn't had one angry outburst. Jared hypothesized that she was holding her wolf in forcefully unconsciously, and tested it by going out of his way to piss her off. The worst experiment yet was when he pantsed her in front of _everyone._

She hadn't phased, but she had hit him in the face really hard.

"Don't be mad, Ahala," Paul had comforted as they sat at Emily's, Sam's fiancée, table. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. Besides, we all got to see that cute little freckle right above your left buttcheek."

Extremely embarrassed, Ahala had just let herself fall asleep with her head on the table. The only perk to late night shifts was being able to fall asleep almost on command; the rest of it sucked. Even before the whole werewolf business she had had trouble staying up past ten o' clock – imagine what a struggle it was to stay up from eleven at night to eight thirty in the morning!

Even after last night, the shortest shift she had ever had, Ahala was dead on her feet. She blindly stumbled up Emily's steps and into the kitchen. Emily, scarred in all her beauty, smiled warmly at her and pulled a chair out. "Sit down, hon," she said as she vanished into the kitchen for a moment before returning with a mug of coffee and four blueberry muffins. "Take a nap after this, okay? I'll make sure no one bothers you."

Ahala smiled gratefully at Emily; she loved that woman. She was so motherly and sweet to everyone, and it was so perfect that she was around. She played Pack Mom fantastically.

Before anyone else could walk in and do so, she scarfed down her four muffins and gulped down her coffee. That was another thing about being a werewolf; you were _always _hungry. It was a subjective sort of thing, but the guys looked at it as a good thing; Ahala, not so much. She didn't gain weight or anything, but it made her feel disgusting scarfing down three steaks and five potatoes in one sitting and still being a little hungry.

She suppressed a belch as she made her way upstairs to the guest bedroom. She took the familiar route down the short stretch of hallway and turned left into a small room with a twin sized bed. A mess of blankets told Ahala that one of the guys had power napped before their shift that morning; by the smells of it, Embry. He had a weird musty smell about him.

Face first, she fell on to the bed. She buried her head into the pillow and bundled up under blankets, more for comfort than necessity, and in three seconds flat she was knocked out cold.

* * *

Ahala awoke to loud laughter downstairs and a large presence at her side. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked upwards to find a half-naked Paul smirking down at her. "Time's up, little lady, it's my turn."

She grumbled a little as she fumbled out of the bed, and glared at Paul all the way out of the room. The laughter downstairs had been replaced with a soft murmur, and as she descended the stairs four pairs of eyes were trained on her. She hesitantly sat down at the table and grabbed an apple out of the dish before her.

"Ahala, I need you to do something." Sam said, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair.

She groaned, "Come on, I handle the night shifts! Give me a break."

Emily came over and rested her hands on Sam's shoulders, and he smiled up at her as she kept her gaze on Ahala. "I tried, hon, but all I could do was get you out of a shift," She smiled apologetically.

Ahala bit into her apple and said with a full mouth, "Then what am I doing?"

"You get to keep an eye on Billy Black's son," Sam said grimly, "we're positive he's next. If something happens today, I wanted to make sure someone experienced was around –"

Ahala was a little flattered, "I guess, if I'm _experienced." _She couldn't help the small smile that crept on to her face. She didn't notice the stifled laughter or the amused smile Sam wore for just a moment.

"Yeah, I'll be checking in every couple of hours." Jared butted in.

"Hours?" Ahala blanched.

Jared nodded. "What, did you think you could just pop in and out? You of all people should know how sudden phasing is. You've gotta stick with that kid in case anything goes wrong."

Ahala wrinkled her nose, "But it's Jacob _Black." _She didn't know him very well, but she knew that he and Embry were best friends; _that _was definitely a sign she wouldn't like this.

Embry sighed, taking on a look of melancholy, "Suck it up, princess. At least you get to see him." If peeling an orange could be done glumly, Embry did so; she had never seen someone be so…_bleh._

"No one cares about your gay love for Jacob, Embry," Jared snapped.

Embry sent the other wolf a glare, but said nothing. Ahala figured she must've missed an incident during her nap; thank the Gods. She'd thought girls had been more prone to drama, but she had been wrong; the guys were so touchy it wasn't even funny. She had commented on Paul's choice of shirt color once and he had gotten pissed off with her and almost lost it; they took anger issues to a new level.

"You should start heading over there now," Sam suggested, standing and pulling Emily into his side. "You two should head out, too. Do the short route, but if anything suspicious comes up run the long one. Got it?"

Ahala sniggered as she pushed in her seat. "Don't forget Paul is in the other room, Sam; guy has got expert hearing."

Emily laughed, and Sam blushed.

* * *

It was an unusually sunny day for La Push. Ahala was wearing cut-off jeans that barely covered her ass and a crop top that was growing increasingly uncomfortable as she had to adjust it so her boobs weren't exposed; she hated the limited fashion choices of a werewolf – but what could a girl do?

She sighed, and picked up her pace as a little red house peaked at the top of the hill. She would've preferred to run there, but the forest surrounding it was sparse and Sam hadn't wanted her to risk being seen by anyone.

As she grew closer she explored her now more frequent suicidal tendencies and wondered how many bullets she could put in her head before she dropped; she really, _really _didn't want to do this. It was like when her mother had wanted to start a Christmas card tradition when Ahala was in the fifth grade and made her wear a stuffy turtleneck pseudo-dress.

Sam was virtually stuffing her in a proverbial turtleneck-dress and making her smile about it.

The closer she got to the door, the more she wanted to turn and run away. Just as her knuckles touched the front door she thought of performing a ding-dong ditch sort of thing and diving in the bushes for her escape – but before she could even explore the plan for that, the door swung open.

The infamously-impaired-but-not-weak Billy Black answered the door with a smile.

"Well, Ahala Leighton; nice to see you. Sam called."

_That son of a bitch trapped me! _She thought as she smiled and nodded, as if she had known and approved of the entire thing. Billy rolled aside just enough for Ahala to get through, and she stepped over the threshold into a new place of sense. The smells were so different from her home or Sam's; it was sort of a half-Chinese-food-half-men's-cologne kind of smell, and the sounds of faint laughter and the clink of metal drifted from somewhere outside – Jacob must've had someone over, oh dear god – and was that also chicken she smelt? She never _did _finish her apple…

"How's the wolf life been treating you, Ahala?" Billy asked as he shut the door behind her, expertly turning to face her in his wheelchair.

She looked at him and shook her head with a smile, "I hate it so much, but it's also kind of cool that I turn into a giant wolf." And she thought that that was probably the most honest thing she'd said all day; hatred and coolness had never gone hand in hand, had they?

Billy laughed, and rolled past her towards the back window. She followed with her arms crossed. Billy's laugh was reduced to a fading smile as he looked out the window to a garage a few hundred feet away from the house, and he shook his head slightly. "He's out back there with Bella Swan. I'd be more comfortable if you sat out there with them, or at least patrolled around the area," he said in a low voice, "I'm so worried about that kid. He's been growing like a weed; I'm dreading the day his temper takes a dip."

Ahala rubbed her hands together uncomfortably. "Um, well, I didn't get all angry and stuff before I phased. I haven't even had an angry outburst yet – maybe he'll be the same as me."

Billy glanced up at her with a dim smile. "Really? That'd be lucky."

Ahala nodded, and gave Billy his silence; she wasn't good at comforting people.

After a long moment, though, he let out a long sigh. "I know you're hungry, so just take the chicken out there and keep an eye on 'em. If you want anything else, help yourself to the kitchen. My home is your home." Billy patted her shoulder without taking his eyes off the window pane, and she gently patted his back and turned towards the kitchen before anything else could be said.

The chicken was sitting hot in a pan on the stove, and with a growling stomach she plucked it out and began to pick at it as she made her way out the backdoor and on to the uneven ground leading to Jacob's garage. The sounds of Jacob's laughter and a girl's faint murmur grew louder as Ahala grew closer.

She was halfway done with the chicken by the time she got to the garage door, and as Jacob's eyes slowly found her his smile faded. Bella Swan, pale as ever, stared up at her curiously.

"_Ahala Leighton?" _He said, bewildered.

His eyes drifted down her body, and then back up to her face. Ahala bit into the chicken and smiled at Bella, "Yep. Whoever cooked this chicken, my highest regards; it is _delish."_

"T-thanks," Bella stuttered.

Jacob shook his head, as if he did not comprehend the scene before him. "_Ahala Leighton? _You're with Sam -? Christ, everyone just said you were sick with something…"

Ahala, feeling dignified, bit the last bit of meat from the bone and tossed it at Jacob. "Why am I automatically 'with Sam'? Assuming makes an ass out of you and me, Jacob," she drifted towards a car bench, and sat down, all without meeting Jacob's eyes.

"Well, are you?"

"Yeah, but that's not the point."

His look visibly darkened. "Did he send you to _watch _me?"

Ahala took this like a pro; she looked up at him and grinned, "Can't I just visit an old –"

The planets aligned. The Earth shook every muscle and bone in her body. The world tipped dangerously off its axis. Something within Ahala had shifted so immensely that she could feel her insides moving around in excitement, as if she was on a rollercoaster. Bella Swan and the garage had faded completely from her view as she stared into his brown eyes – no, chocolate – because that sounded much more romantic and Ahala wanted to _be _romantic with –

It took her three seconds to leave Earth and come back; when she landed, she landed hard. Another three seconds passed, and images of Sam and Emily flashed through her mind so fast that she almost couldn't comprehend what she was formulating in her head.

"Holy – holy _fucking shit!"_

She stood so fast out of seat that the bench tipped back on to the floor, she wanted to choke Jacob as much as she wanted to kiss him in that moment, but somehow the desire to shoot Sam in the head surpassed both of those.

"A-are you okay? You're turning red," Bella Swan stepped towards Ahala, brows drawn together in concern. "Crap, Jake, I think she needs to go to the hospital."

Ahala had begun to hyperventilate, and in a flurry of weird emotions she had begun to run and trip over a toolbox. She picked herself up quickly, no longer caring about Sam's rules and waiting until she was no longer in view of Jacob and Bella, stripped her shorts and top off and phased right at the edge of the forest.

She had fucking _imprinted._


	3. Light Me Up, Paul

"_there's no remedy for memory_

_your face is like a melody_

_it won't leave my head_

_your soul is haunting me and telling me_

_that everything is fine_

_but i wish i was dead"_

_ -Dark Paradise by Lana Del Rey_

**Chapter III – Light Me Up, Paul.**

Ahala kept thinking of why she was here. Was it genetics with just a dash of anger, or fate? As she streaked through the forest with her pepper grey fur and her sad little whimpers, she came to the conclusion it wasn't either of those:

She had died, and this was her own personal hell.

Jacob's face kept flashing through her thoughts, and whenever she managed to get rid of it, it came back moments later; she had never had herpes before, but she figured this is what it felt like. Even with Embry and Jared panicking in the background his face managed to plaster itself on every back alley of her mind.

"_Fuck, Embry, go get Sam – I'll try to calm her down."_

"_Alright man. Good luck."_

Embry's thoughts vanished, but the usual clutter relief in her mind didn't accompany him; her mind still felt as crowded and stuffy as it was when she was with the whole Pack. Jared must've been feeling it, too, because she could feel the faint beginnings of a headache that was certainly not her own.

Yet, anyway.

"_Phase back. I have a t-shirt for you." _Jared urged, and nearby the crushing of leaves was soon accompanied by a sleek grey wolf. After a moment of thinking to himself with a slight hint of impatience, Ahala realized he was waiting for her to phase back.

Still a little inexperienced, she closed her eyes and struggled to return to her original form. It was a challenge, because every time she went to imagine herself as human, Jacob's face and a whole bunch of weird emotions popped into her head and restarted the process all over again.

"_Ahala – are you okay?" _Sam's thoughts joined the mix.

Her concentration was elsewhere, so Jared answered for her. _"She's not. I think this –"_

Jared's thought was cut short for Ahala, for she had finally achieved human form; she was breathing hard and swaying on her feet, but somehow she had managed to get that stupid face out of her mind. After all that had just happened, she just wanted to lie down in the dirt and never wake up again.

A few moments passed, and two human men were pulling cutoffs on and a grey t-shirt was being thrown Ahala's way. Sam buttoned his pants as he spoke, "Don't be upset that I didn't warn you. These kinds of things can't be predicted."

Ahala opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

"Damn, and I thought Paul would be next. Really put the twist on us there, Ahala."

Sam glared at Jared, "Don't say it like it's a bad thing; it isn't."

Jared snorted, "Says the Imprinted Wolf."

The Alpha sucked in a deep breath, let it out, and turned his attention back to Ahala. Her mind was elsewhere, somewhere in Jacob's garage, and leaning over the bench while he hovered -

"Do you want to tell him?"

"Wha – huh?" Ahala snapped out of her embarrassing – and hot – fantasy.

Sam's brows quirked. "Do you want to tell Jacob about this or not?"

Ahala pursed her lips; what he meant by the question was still iffy, but then again she was floating away on cloud nine with a creepy cardboard cutout of Jacob Black, so she thought perhaps it was just her. "I don't know," she replied.

He nodded, "Got it," he turned on his heel, and began to head back the way he had come from. "You and I are taking the night shift, Jared, Embry'll take the morning shift, and Ahala and Paul have off."

"What – come on! Switch me out with Paul!"

"Let the guy have some rest. You know what's coming up in a week…"

The proceedings of their conversation faded as they grew further away, leaving Ahala to stand in the middle of the greenery, naked. Unfolding the shirt in her hands, she pulled it over her head and adjusted it accordingly, before following after her two Pack brothers.

* * *

When Ahala got back to Emily's, Paul was sitting on the porch smoking a cigarette and the clanging of pans echoed from inside. She was at a crossroads; commotion, or Paul?

As Jacob's stupid face brought another migraine-inducing wave of emotions, she plopped down next to Paul and held out her hand. "Gimmie one."

"Nuh-uh, little lady. This is a bad habit."

She rolled her eyes. "Any damage it causes will be healed by tomorrow morning. Just give me a damn cigarette." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, before reaching down in his pocket and pulling out a smashed pack of menthols. He deposited one and dropped it in her hand.

Putting it between her lips, she grabbed the lighter resting on his thigh and lit it; she'd never smoked before, but she'd watched her mom do it enough times to know the routine. She suppressed a cough as she blew out a puff of smoke.

"You imprinted, huh?"

She nodded in reply.

He snorted. "That sucks. And here I thought you and Embry were gonna get together."

"Sorry to disappoint," Ahala said.

Paul said nothing in reply, and she took that as a 'shut up'. He had a rough week coming up; he deserved the silence.

Eventually, as noon faded to evening, everyone came to join them on the porch. Emily frowned at cigarette resting between Ahala's lips, but said nothing; good thing Emily didn't know that it was her sixth one.

"So," Embry said, putting his arm around Ahala and smiling, "you decide yet?"

"Decide what?"

"If you're going to tell Jake or not." She didn't even need to look at him to know what he was doing; if she told Jacob, then he would be in on everything and they could have their little play dates again.

"Don't rush her, Embry," Emily scolded.

"That's the entire point of the imprint, though," Jared intervened, "to rush, I mean."

Sam shook his head in disagreement. "No. The whole point of the imprint is to show us who's best compatible with your wolf."

Paul laughed. "It's a fuckin' mythical dating service!"

Embry let out a loud snort and looked to Sam, "Permission to call it Mythical Hookup?"

Sam had rolled his eyes and shook his head no. "Stop messing around, you guys."

Ahala stopped listening to the conversation after that. Although the 'Mythical Hookup' had been kind of funny, she was otherwise getting a headache from the usually entertaining banter.

She instead focused on the white-noise in the back of her mind, hoping that _his _face wouldn't find her again.

And funnily enough, she fell asleep with the cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

* * *

**A/n: **I'm surprised and grateful for the response that I got. I really didn't expect this story to get attention at all, so you really don't get how shocking it is to get even five reviews on this. Rewriting this has been quite a journey; it's showed me that sometimes you gotta kill your darlings, and sometimes, you gotta bring 'em back.


	4. How To Make Friends

"_day and night,_

_i toss and turn, i keep stressing my mind, mind_

_i look for peace but see i don't attain_

_what i need for keeps this silly game we play, play"_

_ -Day 'N' Night by Kid Cudi_

**Chapter IV – How To Make Friends.**

Two days had passed, but Ahala felt as if it had been years.

She trudged up the porch steps routinely, silently accepted a menthol from Paul and slumped inside; she had been so exhausted since the imprint that all her mind had had time for were her shifts, Jacob Black, and food – and sometimes, sleep.

Emily and Sam weren't home, so Ahala pushed past the swinging door leading to the kitchen and slid up on to the counter. Reaching over the sink, she cracked the screen open. She had done this countless times, now. Every chance she got to smoke inside, she did; it made her wolf feel confined, and when her wolf felt confined it was tamer and less likely to send her sprinting across the res to that little red house.

She lit her menthol and puffed on it appreciatively.

It was barely noon yet, but that was just going off her senses; the sun hadn't resurfaced since two days ago, and she had a feeling it wouldn't for a while. Rain was a common forecast around La Push and Forks, unfortunately; it sucked for the wolves, mostly because of all the mud they had to trek through on shifts. There was nothing worse than mud in places you didn't even know you had.

"At least put some pants on before you sit on the counter,"

Embry's voice made Ahala jump. He stood in the doorway, smirking at her; he looked a lot like Paul when he did that, save his thinner face and longer hair. She shrugged and puffed on her cigarette again, "Pants are for people who have something to hide."

"Pants," Embry said, moving in to the middle of the kitchen and leaning against the counter across from her, "are common decencies. Normally people aren't comfortable with having their –"he gestured to her state of undress "stuff, hanging out everywhere."

Ahala scoffed and smiled dimly, "There ain't nothing hanging around here, Embry," and as an afterthought, "and…we're not common, Embry. I really don't want to have this argument with you right now, so go talk to Paul or something. He's out on the porch."

Her Pack brother looked a little dejected, but shrugged it off. "Nah. Guy's been in such a shitty mood lately, no one has wanted to talk to him."

She shrugged again. "He's been nice to me,"

"That's because he feels bad for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Embry said as he nodded.

Ahala's face twisted up; felt _bad _for her? "Why's that?"

"Well, when we were on patrol the other night, he was thinking about you know, the imprint. He kept saying that you were way too young for this. Like, when he was sixteen he was having fun and drinking and shit, and you're –"

"Just give her the whole story, why don't you?"

Both Ahala and Embry's head snapped towards the doorway, where Paul now stood with his arms crossed. The dark circles under his eyes were more prominent than the rest of theirs, standing out against his copper skin in an almost unnatural way; if not under the circumstances, the others might've been worried.

"Sorry, man," Embry said tensely.

"It's cool." Paul said, looking to Ahala as he spoke. "How're you doing?"

She shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Still got that kid on your mind?"

"Of course."

"I'm sorry."

Ahala went to puff on her cigarette and only found a stub; she hadn't realized she'd let it burn down. Depositing it out of the cracked window, she shook her head. "Don't apologize like it's your fault, Paul. It was supposed to happen."

"If you hadn't phased it wouldn't have,"

She eyed her brother curiously; what was he getting at?

"There's no reason to linger on the 'what ifs'. It happened." She replied, softly.

Paul opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly closed it and shook his head, smiling a rueful kind of smile. "It…it doesn't matter. Whatever. Embry, go on patrol with Jared."

Embry looked ready to argue, but then, he seemed to notice just how deep the bags under Paul's eyes had penetrated his face, and departed without so much as a nod. Ahala was a little scared of what he was going to say, now. The look in his eyes was almost…

"Ahala, if…if you want someone that you're not forced to be with…"

It was the first time she was seeing Paul struggle with his words; it was…_scaring _her.

"Then I'm here. I'm a piece of shit and I won't ever love you the way you'd want me to, but I can give you anything else. I just don't want you to feel trapped with that stupid little asshole," Paul was looking at her with furrowed brows as he said this, and his dark eyes searched hers for an answer.

The only thing she managed to say was, "Dude…no."

He nodded slowly. "Okay. Just…just…if you ever feel trapped, Ahala…"

"I'll let you know, okay?" She said softly.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

Now fully clothed and a little less exhausted, Ahala was nearly to the corner store where she planned to purchase a pack of menthols for Paul and an orange juice for herself. She was just strolling in the door when she heard a door slamming and someone saying her name.

"Oh, my god, what _happened _to you? You look so grown up…so tired…"

_Shit._

Ahala immediately stepped away from her mother. She had _completely _forgotten about her mother; so much, she felt a little guilty. It had been nearly two months now since Ahala had last seen her. All she managed to ground out was a soft, "Mom."

"Where the hell have you been? I've been calling and calling and I even went to the police around here and they sent me away – the said you were with the Elders and Sam Uley – and is that a _tattoo? _- Ahala Leighton you're going home with me and we're getting out of this town right –" Her mother went to grab her arm, but Ahala, feeling extremely fast, pulled away.

"I can't leave, mom."

Her mother's expression went blank with confusion. "What? Why?"

"I have…I have duties here now." _I turn into a giant fucking wolf and I protect the res._

"What do you mean? Are you into drugs, honey? If you are, I promise we'll get through this, okay? Just come with me and we can get you to a doctor –"

"No, mother." Ahala said a little more forcefully; this was so surreal. She couldn't comprehend what she was saying or what her mother was saying, and she figured, for that moment, that all of that was for the best. "I'm bound to these lands, and…and if I leave, bad things will happen."

Her mother retracted slightly from her. "You're scaring me."

"I know."

"I can't let you leave, though, Ahala."

Ahala shook her head, hoping to the Gods she wouldn't cry. "You have to."

Her mother was fast, but Ahala was faster. Her mother had lunged for her, arms spread out wide. Quickly, Ahala spun out of the grasp and ended up several feet away, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she saw her mother was ready to pursue her. "Mom, just _leave me _alone!"

Pivoting on her heel, Ahala turned and began to sprint.

She was in straight view of the forest, but just as she began to hook her fingers in her belt loops she was interrupted by the squealing of tires and a horn blaring. She felt a slight pain in her leg as she collided with a jeep, but seeing as though her mother was not stopping and was hot on her tail, she felt she had no choice.

She vaulted over top of the car, flung the passenger side open, and nearly yelled, _"Drive."_

Surprisingly, the driver did; and they were fast, too.

Ahala tried not to listen to her mother's screams as they flew out of the corner store parking lot, and slumped, relieved, in her seat. "Thank you," She whispered under her breath, more to the Gods than anyone.

"It's no problem," Said the driver, who, now that Ahala was looking at her, was an unfamiliar face. It was strange in these kinds of parts, to see an unfamiliar face; it was refreshing. "Don't take offense to this or anything, but if you just robbed that lady or something I'm going to have to turn you in."

Ahala, sitting up, shook her head and let out a breathy laugh. "No. No, that was my mother."

The girl nodded and smiled, "Yeah? Running away from some problems, huh?"

"Pretty much," Ahala said, and they lapsed into silence.

The girl slowed down, and soon they were crawling down the dirt trail leading off the res. Ahala distractedly realized that this was the route one would take to Jacob's house, but attempted to keep her thoughts focused.

"I'm Jesy, by the way."

Ahala glanced over at her and nodded, "I'm Ahala."

"That's a really pretty name," said Jesy, "I'd ask you to tell your mother she has good taste but…"

Ahala laughed; honest to the Gods, laughed. It hadn't been _that _funny, but perhaps it was just the exhilaration of breaking one rule after another. She had definitely said way too much to her mother, put up a scene, jumped in the car with some stranger…

Today was just…_oh, _what the hell.

"Can you turn on this street? Just drive until you see the red house."

* * *

**A/n - **this chapter was so, so hard to write. If it hadn't been for the lovely LupaaLove (owner of Jesy), this whole chapter would have never come about the way it did. Thank you so much :)


	5. Instinct

"_i shouldn't have followed you anywhere_

'_cause anywhere's better than here"_

_ -Anywhere But Here by Sick Puppies_

**Chapter V – Instinct.**

"So, is this your house?"

"No,"

"…are you sure you're not a criminal, Ahala?"

Ahala gave Jesy a dry look, and shook her head. "It's my…er…friend's house. I wanted to drop by and see what he was doing," Friend seemed like such an inappropriate title for Jacob; he felt like so much more than a friend. For that particular reason, she was glad she'd been away from him, because no doubt she'd have trouble keeping behind her boundaries. And the last thing she wanted to do was scare him away…

"Al…right. You're buying me pizza for this, you know."

"Yeah, I owe you one. I promise I will," Ahala gave a sincere smile, and attempted to compose herself before she set her eyes on that little red house that would send her heart fluttering and her stomach twisting. Jesy seemed to notice her jittery exterior, but gave nothing but a strange look.

There it was.

Right there.

As if she'd been on a roller coaster the whole time and she was just reaching the loop, Ahala's stomach dropped and she grew lightheaded. For the millionth time, she swore her senses got all hyperactive when she was near him because she was positive she could smell oil with faint traces of musk resting underneath. Except now, instead of being a few feet into the forest in wolf form, she was close enough to feel the lightening air around him.

Jesy came to a stop by the rusty red truck – _was that his? – _and Ahala, as calmly and collectedly as she could, opened her door and slid out of her seat. She looked to Jesy, "I won't be long, okay?"

Jesy nodded, "Got it, stranger," and as Ahala was walking away, she called after her, "don't forget about the pizza!"

Ahala wasn't exactly sure what she had in mind for this little visit, but she trusted herself to figure something out. She was going to somehow keep her promise to Jesy and not take too long, but that really depended on if he was alone or not…

At that thought, she reminded herself of the boundaries.

The garage was just coming into view. The sound of metal clinking and soft chatter was floating from inside, and faintly, Ahala wondered who else was in there with him; Quil? Nothing had happened to him yet. Or maybe Embry had decided to break a few rules, too…

As she crossed over the uneven ground, things came into perspective.

_Bella Swan. _Of course – Bella Swan. Through Sam and Embry's memories, she could see the shitty truck and the little pale thing lying in the dirt, and a worried Jacob in a crowded living room. Something inside of Ahala snapped, just as she reached the door.

Jacob looked up at her, and his face screwed up into an unreadable expression. "Ahala?"

In any other circumstances, Ahala would've catered an answered to his every word, but her eyes were trained on the girl; Bella Swan. True instincts were bleeding through the thin paper of Ahala's human façade, and if it hadn't been for the rational part of her, she probably would've phased right then and there and attacked her. For just then, though, she settled for a scowl.

Much to her wolf's liking, Bella shrunk away; much to Jacob's disliking, Ahala smirked.

"What are you doing here, Ahala?" Jacob demanded, setting down a wrench on his work bench and approaching her rigidly.

Ahala straightened immediately, meeting his eyes helplessly. She felt, for the slightest moment, as if she'd stepped under the cool waters of the ocean and all the heated residue of her kind washed away. She was just Ahala, and he was just Jacob; there was no imprint, there was no wolf. Just them. "I came to see you," She said softly.

Jacob stopped in his steps. "Wha-?"

In the split second between his shock and Ahala's soft-eyed stare, Bella stood up, suddenly indignant and fiery. "Listen, whatever you and Sam want with Jacob, back off, okay? He doesn't want to join your gang."

Ahala went from soft-eyed to instinct driven in two seconds flat. "Are you itching for a fight, little girl?" She growled, pivoting towards Bella; she felt like Paul in that moment, the way she imagined phasing on a fly and tearing into her prey's pale flesh.

"I will protect Jacob," Bella said through her teeth.

Smirking, Ahala began to approach Bella with her hands fisted, but was stopped by a large hand on her arm. She stopped in her tracks, and turned. Jacob was glaring down at her, and as he spoke she noticed the red tint just beneath his copper skin. "Leave, Ahala. Don't come back."

_Fuck. _The roller coaster she had been on earlier derailed and crashed into an erupting volcano.

"Jacob, wait –"

"No, leave."

"Shit, you don't understand, Jacob, I'm –"Ahala sent a scowl towards Bella, cursing her presence; if she wasn't here, she could just tell him. He could know about werewolves, he could know about Bella's disgusting past, he could know about the inexplicable, unfathomable connection they shared. Almost hesitantly, she shook Jacob's arm off. "Forget about it."

"Got it. Now leave, before I call the cops."

Ahala turned to the door, feeling as if she was on fire. One last time, though, she looked to Bella, and uttered the words she knew would tear apart the paleface. "I know why Cullen left, now."

And with that, she left. Running.

The temptation to flee into the trees and unleash herself was huge, but she did remember she had Jesy waiting. Feeling as though she'd spent years away from her, Ahala hurried. When she arrived back at the car she slid into her seat and shut the door at her side, and murmured, "Let's go."

Jesy nodded and began to pull out, "Everything…okay?"

Ahala shrugged, and shook her head. "Honestly, no. But it doesn't matter. Let's go get some pizza."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

* * *

By the time Ahala and Jesy sat down to eat at the local Forks pizza parlor, it was evening. Ahala used Sam's debit card (she'd broke so many rules today) and paid for her new friend's pizza, as promised.

She did all of this with a hollow chest.

"So you're new around here," She offered Jesy as a conversation topic. It was enough to get the girl rambling, which was perfect. All Ahala had to do was nod and smile and ask little questions here and there, which left most of her thoughts to Jacob and how she was going to get rid of Bella – if she could. She had been so protective of him, and he had been so protective of her…

"…lived here when I was younger, but moved to Mississippi when I was about eleven years old. My mom decided to move us back here, for some reason; not really sure. Not a lot has changed, you know? I've seen some of the same faces around, they're just a little older…"

God, Sam was going to kill her. She'd nearly ripped Bella apart. She was glad Paul had broken her cell phone a while back, or else she was positive he would've been calling her off the hook. They were probably looking everywhere for her right now; she was only supposed to go to the corner store and pick up some things. They were probably at Jacob's right now, asking Billy.

"…but yeah, that's my story," Jesy finished. "What's yours, Ahala? You've lived here all your life?"

Ahala snapped back into reality and nodded quickly. "Y-yeah. Never been outside of Washington."

"Really? Wow. You're like, a sheltered child. Let me be your _Aladdin_."

Ahala smiled dimly. "My _Aladdin?"_

Jesy grinned, and lapsed into a brief synopsis of the classic Disney movie. Halfway through, though, a foreboding presence overtook the little pizza parlor.

Looking to the door, Paul and Sam stood there.

Sam looked pissed and Paul wore an unreadable expression.

Jesy followed Ahala's gaze and looked at them questioningly. "What's…what's going on?"

Sam was stalking towards their table with Paul following in suit. Ahala thought they'd just loom over her and give her the usual speech, but she realized with Jesy there they couldn't do that; they'd have to act human.

Tensely, Sam slid into the booth next to her and Paul awkwardly sat on the edge of Jesy's side. He looked at his sister with a careful stare, gently probing the emotions in her eyes to figure out what had happened; he didn't look it, but he was incredibly perceptive.

"So, what happened?" Sam said tersely.

Ahala bit into her pizza and shrugged. "Got sidetracked."

"With what?"

"You know, stuff."

Ahala looked to Jesy, silently begging for an interruption; her friend seemed to receive the message. "Sorry, er, sir. It was my fault your daughter got sidetracked."

"She's not my daughter, she's my…friend. Not right now, though." Sam glared at her, and gestured towards the door. "Let's take a walk. We have some things to discuss about your new work schedule."

Ahala internally groaned. "Alright," she sighed, and looked to Jesy. "Thanks for everything today, Jesy. I still owe you, okay?"

Jesy smiled weakly, looking faintly worried for her friend. "Okay. See you later."

And with that, Ahala left with Sam. She realized at the door that Paul was still sitting with Jesy, but thought nothing of it; she had more pressing thoughts:

What the _hell _was she going to do?

* * *

**A/n - **thanks for all the love, guys!

Read and review, as always!


	6. Okay

"_when amidst all the madness_

_i saw a flower_

_a dream that was creepin'_

_i kept in my sight and then_

_it turned and it took me, an explosion,_

_it shook me._

_Beauty that screams i'm alive"_

_ -Tiny Little Robots by Cage the Elephant_

**Chapter VI – Okay.**

When Ahala was six years old – when her father was still alive – her mother had used to do puzzles; not small little ten piece ones, though, but the five-thousand piece ones that were for people who had time to waste. She remembered, very clearly, when her father would wake her late and would prompt her out of bed.

"_Wake up, little one," _He would say softly, while drawing his finger softly over her cheek.

A little Ahala would groan and roll to face him, cracking her eyes open just enough to see him. _"Why, dad?" _She had never understood why her father did these kinds of things; he'd always been a strange man.

"_We've got to keep your mother company."_

"_Why?"_

"_She's all alone out in the living room, doing her puzzles," _He had said, smiling through his beard and tired eyes, _"we've got to be a good family and go help her out." _

Ahala would just stretch, sit up and wait to be picked up. Her father would wrap his arms around her and keep her warm as they trekked down the quiet hallways leading to the living room, and would set her down next to her mother. He would sit on the other side, and wrap his arm around his wife's waist and kiss her cheek. _"You're not alone."_

Now, as Ahala padded up the porch steps and into Emily's, she kept thinking of those words and Bella Swan and Jacob Black and the Pack. She was surrounded by people who both loved and hated her, and she should have felt so surrounded by their closeness but she wasn't – they felt millions of miles away.

As Emily greeted her at the door with a sad smile, she found she couldn't manage a smile back.

"Was it Jacob, hon?" Emily said softly, placing a soft hand on her shoulder.

Ahala met Emily's eyes, and slowly nodded. "He's…half of it."

"Do you want me to make some tea so we can talk about it?"

"Yes, please."

A lonely wolf was an unhealthy wolf; a lonely wolf was a dangerous wolf. Ahala couldn't continue to feel all these miles away, not when she had a Pack to be a part of and an imprint to take care of.

Emily vanished into the kitchen, leaving Ahala to herself. She slipped into her usual seat at the dining table, and laid her head on its cool surface. She let her thoughts wander back to Jesy and Jacob and Bella, and then to Sam's anger and Paul's absence as they left the pizza parlor. Those moments felt so far away, but they had only been a few hours ago.

A while must've passed because Emily eventually reentered the dining room and set a hot cup of tea in front of Ahala, and took a seat across from her. "Okay, let's talk, hon. Tell me everything – and don't hold back. The boys aren't here, yet."

This time, Ahala managed a smile. She jumped into the story, telling it in full detail – from her mother to Jesy to Jacob, and thankfully, all she received in return was a prompting nod. At some point, though, while the story flowed from her lips, tears had begun to find their way down her face and into her tea. As she sipped it, she tasted the faintness of salt.

When she finally finished, Emily asked, "Do you know where you mother is right now?"

Ahala shook her head. "No idea. Knowing her, though, she's probably at the police station again."

Emily nodded. "There's no sense of worrying about that right now, then," she said, "but Jacob and Bella. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, Em," she sniffled, "I explained everything to Sam after we left the parlor, and he just told me to tell him – but how can I do that when _she's _always around? And it's not like he wants to listen to me after today. I totally just barged in and made a fool of myself."

The other woman suddenly let a sly smile cross her features, and she sipped her tea. "Hon, I have a few things to teach you about cat fights."

"_Cat _fights?"

Emily nodded. "Yes. Girl fights, you know."

"I'm a wolf, Em."

"We'll come up with a better name for it later, but for now we'll focus on what you're going to do. When you stand up from this table, you'll be put together and on your way to win Jacob's heart. I'll teach you to do it like a true lady."

Ahala was grinning through her tears now. "Let's do it,"

In the little time they had left before the guys got home, they constructed a plan. And as the tears lessened and the laughter and smiles grew, Ahala began to feel closer again; she could feel Emily's heart, she could feel her Pack's heart.

She could feel _her _heart.

* * *

Emily had been correct; when Ahala stood from the table, she felt sorted.

Just as Emily collected their cups off the table, the guys blundered up the porch steps. Ahala came around the table to greet them, in an attempt to keep things as they usually were, but found that things weren't usual; Paul was hanging between Jared and Sam and looked a little bit more than wasted.

"I am _not _drunk."

"Paul, you puked all over Embry's pants. You're shit-faced."

"It was the pizza! They put – they put shit in my pizza because they knew –"

Jared groaned. "Shut the hell up, Paul – there's a canteen of vodka in your pocket."

Ahala looked to Sam, who looked stressed beyond belief; two of his wolves had had breakdowns today – it was a new record. "What's going on?" She asked.

"He –"

"That chick that you were with," Paul slurred, "she – she imprinted on me!"

Sam looked like he'd heard that ten times over, and sighed. "Paul, you imprinted on _her."_

"I swear, I didn't!"

"I'm done with this guy," Jared said, letting Paul drop into a seat at the table and stalking upstairs. "I'm calling the bed tonight! Wake me up when it's time for my shift, Em."

"Got it, Jared," Emily called, and then turned to Paul. "Oh, hon, don't work yourself up. What do you want? Milk? Water? Food?"

"I want…" Paul looked as if he was going to be sick again, but seemed to fend off the feeling, "I want…I want to go to sleep. I want to go to sleep with Jared. He's my favorite brother, you know? I want to lay my head on his chest…"

Ahala began to giggle; Paul was going to regret this in the morning. It was a bit of a surprise that he had imprinted on Jesy – but she wasn't unhappy about it. She'd liked Jesy and looked forward to knowing her better; she could have someone her age besides the guys know about everything, now.

"Okay, hon," Emily said with a soft smile and patted the man's shoulder.

Sam looked to Ahala, "Help me."

"Gotcha," She mumbled, and picked up her brother's other side. Together, Sam and Ahala hauled Paul up the steps in silence, down the hallway and into the guest bedroom, where Jared was already soundly asleep. Gently, Ahala removed the canteen from Paul's pocket and helped Sam lower him down on to the floor beside the bed.

"Go to sleep, Paul," Sam said quietly.

He was already asleep, though. Ahala suppressed a grin as they left. Sam kept looking at her as they descended the stairs, as if she was about to drink the rest of Paul's canteen; she didn't blame him, either. She hadn't quite been in the best mental state when they'd left the parlor.

"I'm cool, Sam. Don't worry."

Sam nodded. "Just making sure," he said, and held out his hand for the canteen, "just give me it and I'll leave you alone."

She handed it to him and then made her way to the living room, where Emily had sat down and begun to watch a movie on the hallmark channel. She sat beside her friend, and tried to follow along with the sappy plot.

The night was quiet. Sam was doing something on his laptop, Jared and Paul were sleeping soundly upstairs, Ahala and Emily were watching a movie; this was a relatively normal night. It felt good, doing something normal for once.

Just as Ahala began to settle with the normal, though, someone came barging up the porch steps and busting through the screen door; it was Embry. He was frantic, and his eyes were red like he'd been crying and he was stark naked.

"Holy – what the hell is going on, Embry?"

"It's Jacob,"

Ahala shot to her feet and ran to the dining room where Sam and Embry stood. "What about Jacob? Is he okay?" She asked, trying not to let her heart drop to her stomach – if she lost her head in this situation she might not be able to protect Jacob to the best of her ability.

"He's – he phased, Ahala," Embry said, and then looked back to Sam, "we have to go. Right now."

Ahala had never sprinted so fast in her life.

* * *

**A/n - **let me know what you think of this chapter. I feel a little iffy about it, but since it gave me a little trouble while writing it I figured it was the best that I would get.

Read and review as always!


	7. From Midnight to Morning

"_my heart just sank the moment i saw you_

_you're the image of a girl that i used to know_

_don't be alarmed, if it seems hard, for me to explain,_

_but every detail of your face makes me recall the name"_

_ -Treading Water by Alex Clare_

**Chapter VII – From Midnight to Morning.**

The forestry blew past Ahala so fast that it was a blur, but the only feet that were hitting the ground were her human ones; it would be so much easier to phase, but with Jacob in such a tedious position, her thoughts would just overwhelm him.

Sam and Embry seemed to realize the same thing, because they thundered beside her in their human forms. Even though they were all unconnected, their minds worked as one; with a glance to her left, Ahala knew Embry would be the first to approach. It was better if someone familiar helped him through the first steps.

"Ahala, I want you to stay in the trees when we get there. Okay?" Sam said, now at her right.

She vaulted over a log, while they ducked under it. "He's my imprint," Ahala ground out through gritted teeth. "I think I deserve to be there for him."

"You do," Sam replied, "but it'll be too much for him. Let me and Embry do it."

Ahala hated to admit it, but it was true; just her presence would overwhelm him. In his mind, he would connect the dots. Her strange visits would align with all the commotion going on around La Push, and he would remember the fight between human and wolf in her eyes when she looked at him that last time and something in his head would click –

"Got it," She agreed, cutting off her thoughts; she had to stay focused.

They were getting close. She could smell the faint traces of his musty scent, muddled by the sharp tinge of fear and agitation and sweat. Her heart was beating fast, because she knew the moment they reached the edge of the treeline she would have to stop and she wouldn't have a clear view of what was going on – which meant that Jacob could get hurt in the few minutes he was alone with Embry and Jacob and oh god she was going to be sick –

She forced herself to a halt when she saw the dim lights outside of Jacob and Billy's. She could hear the labored breathing of a large creature and the rustle of fur. As her two brothers continued past her into the yard, she watched as they hurried behind the house, finally vanishing from her view.

Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she thought her ribs were breaking.

In what felt like a vain attempt to save her shattered torso, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself and held as tightly as she could. Her stomach was doing summersaults and her knees were knocking together – she was nearly seventeen years old, but all at once, she felt like a defenseless child.

If something were to happen to Jacob, it would be like unplugging her life support; everything would begin to slowly shut down, and then – in the blink of an eye – the lights would go out and oblivion would be there to catch her fall.

She would be nothing but a vacant shell.

And that thought scared her more than anything. She was staring into an abyss and Jacob was the only one who was keeping her from falling. All she needed to see was him emerging from behind that house, wolf or human; anything to prove that he was alive and well.

And then, he did. Wolf form intact and a jet black wolf leading him.

All of Ahala's muscles relaxed. Her ribs were suddenly glued back together and perfect – as if they'd never been broken – and holy shit his fur was so _perfect _– it was a deep russet, so different from anyone else's –

Embry, still human, came jogging up to her. "You can go now. He's calmed down."

"He's okay?" She asked.

"He's okay," Embry replied, grinning.

A little faster than she cared to admit, Ahala bolted towards the russet wolf. Sam maneuvered out of her way, and Jacob stumbled forward as he stopped. As she got closer, she slowed, until she was placing one foot in front of the other in a manner that showed she meant no harm.

He was looking anywhere but her eyes, and with a soft smile she gently cupped his head in her hands and coaxed his gaze to hers.

Brown eyes widened as midnight hit.

* * *

Ahala leaned against her russet wolf and breathed out a deep sigh.

Jacob was lying soundly just inside the treeline outside of Emily's house, resting. She was positive he wasn't asleep, not with everything that had happened that night, but she was content with sitting in the silence of the forest with him; they hadn't spoken a true word since his imprinting, but who needed words when you had wolves who communicated for you?

Just being around each other was a satisfying means of communication.

But Ahala had always liked to keep in touch with her human side; so she spoke. "Promise we'll talk a lot in the morning?" She said quietly, letting her head lay against his shoulder blade.

The wolf gave a small huff in response.

She let out a breathy laugh, "We've got to teach you how to phase back first thing," she said, "but you gotta sleep for that. It's a lot of hard work."

Jacob huffed again.

In response, Ahala huffed.

Jacob huffed.

Ahala huffed.

She lifted her head and laughed, and he turned his gaze to her and she didn't need to hear a laugh to know that she was not alone in her joy. She could feel the emotions she had been feeling the past few weeks pouring over her, and she thought that in that moment no one had ever been as loved as Jacob Black.

After a long while, they fell asleep. It was early morning, but it was still dark out, and somewhere in the darkness of the trees, Jacob abandoned his fur and returned to his skin, and he lay curled around Ahala like she was his security blanket.

* * *

"Ooo, he's naked – think he already got some?"

"Probably not," replied a gruff voice.

"Come on, Paul – you're not being any fun right now."

"My head hurts like hell and it feels like there's a huge fucking hole in my chest."

There was a scoff. "That's 'cause you don't wanna accept the imprint, you idiot. Sam said –"

"I don't give a shit what Sam said. Imprints are for people who can't settle down on their own," a sniffle, "like these two. They're both lonely, tortured souls – now look at them. All together and happy and shit."

Ahala cracked her eyes open, gazing up at her two older brothers. Paul looked like shit, and Jared looked down at her with a grin. "Morning sunshine, finally lose your virginity?"

Ahala smiled tiredly, "I dunno, did you finally lose yours?"

Jared's smile was gone. He scowled. "Touché."

"What – Ahala," Jacob's groggy voice sounded from behind her, and suddenly Paul and Jared weren't there. She spun around to face him, hugging her arms tightly around his torso.

"Morning," She murmured.

He smiled, and she brushed a piece of hair out of his face. "Morning." He replied.

"Remember the promise you made last night?"

"I do,"

Ahala nodded and grinned widely. "Let's go get you some pants and then we can talk at breakfast." She slid out of his arms reluctantly and stood, looking to her brothers and raising her brows. "Go get some pants for him."

Paul turned on his heel immediately, eager to get back inside, while Jared wrinkled his nose at her. She ignored Jared's response and returned her attention back to Jacob, who was attempting to cover himself with his hands as he stood. He blushed as she laughed.

"Don't be afraid," She said, smiling.

Jacob scoffed, "I'm not exactly used to running around naked all the time."

Ahala opened her mouth to reply, but was stopped by the crunching of leaves behind her. Sam came to stand beside her and threw a pair of cutoffs to Jacob, "Nudity is something we all must get past if we want to work as an effective pack. It's inevitable."

"Sure, sure." Jacob mumbled in reply, as he quickly stepped into his pants and pulled them up.

"Okay," Sam said, nodding at both his Pack members, "let's get eat some breakfast. Em made it special today for the new arrival." He turned and began back towards Emily's, leaving Jacob and Ahala to themselves once again.

Ahala grabbed Jacob's hand, and he intertwined their fingers. "Hungry?" She murmured.

He nodded, and she took the chance to move closer and lean up on her toes, pressing her lips firmly against his.

* * *

**A/n - **this chapter was so fun to write! _I missed out on doing my world history exam study guide to write this! Yay!_

*dies inside*

read and review as always~


	8. Here Comes the Dead Red Head

"_you pick me up and take me home again_

_head out the window again_

_we're hollow like the bottles that we drain_

_you drape your wrists over the steering wheel_

_pulses can drive from here_

_we might be hollow, but we're brave"_

_ -400 Lux by Lorde_

**Chapter VIII – Here Comes the Dead Red Head.**

"Breakfast was…good,"

"Why do you say it like it's a bad thing?"

Ahala looked to Jacob with a hint of a smile on her face, warmth feeling her chest as he met her eyes. "This is just weird. I mean I'm a wolf now, and I'm just…casually talking about breakfast with my imprint." As he said imprint, he reached for her hand and weaved his fingers through hers.

Warmth filled both of their chests at the contact, and while Jacob was halted by the sudden jolt, Ahala spun in front of him, looking up at him curiously. "Casual is good," Ahala said, "it keeps your mind off other things."

"Like what?"

"You know," she drawled, letting her free hand reach up and tracing her finger over his lower lip. "The others are just inside. I don't think they'd like if we were kissing on the porch, right?"

He reached up and gently grabbed her hand, and she could feel that he was trembling slightly. She was worried for a moment that she was doing something wrong and began to search for ways to step out of the situation, but as her eyes came back to meet his she found that he was much closer and she could feel his breath across her face.

She immediately forgot her previous thoughts and moved forward to meet his lips.

A few blissful moments passed before the door finally opened. "Ugh, imprinted couples suck. You leave for ten minutes and they're half naked by the time you get back." Embry let the door shut behind him, water in hand and an uncomfortable look on his face.

Ahala smiled sympathetically at Jacob as she pulled away, and looked to Embry, "You're just mad that I stole Jacob from you."

"I am _not _gay for Jacob, for the last time."

"Never said you were, Em," Ahala grinned, "why're you being so defensive? Do I have competition?"

Jacob laughed, "If you've got something to tell me, Embry, just tell me. No promises though."

Embry leaned against the railing lining the porch, scowling at his friends. "You guys suck."

The door opened again, but this time Jared and Paul emerged. Paul was still looking hungover, and Jared was looking irritated as ever. Ahala gave warning glares to both of her Pack brothers, as a reminder that Jacob was calm now but was still very unstable; he hadn't had an outburst yet, but it was only just the day after.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch," Paul grunted, "we're going on patrol."

"I don't even know why we patrol," Jared hissed as he descended the porch steps, "the bloodsuckers left a while ago, and there's been no sign since! And it's not like there's any other mythical creatures left to look out for."

"Vampires?" Jacob whispered in Ahala's ear.

She looked to him and nodded. "Yep. Ever since the Cullens left, there hasn't been a sign of one anywhere. The quiet is nice, I suppose, but Sam still makes us patrol."

Jacob's face went blank. "The…Cullens…"

Ahala watched curiously as his face contorted through several emotions, before he finally stood. "Shit! Shit, _shit! _Bella, I completely forgot about her – shit – shit – I have to go find her and tell her so she doesn't think –"

Ahala stood after him, grabbing his arm; her stomach had begun twisting. "You can't tell her." He looked completely betrayed as he looked at her; the twisting in her stomach turned into flips, and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick. She knew she couldn't let him tell her, but she couldn't take that look…

"What are you saying? Don't you know how – how – _fuck –"_

He was trembling, so hard Ahala thought she was going to have Emily's scars if she didn't get out the way.

"Calm down, Jacob, it's going to be okay," Ahala could feel the hysteria rising in her throat. She was breaking from the inside out, seeing him like this – she wanted to be angry that Bella still mattered, but how could she be angry at Jacob? He was _Jacob…_

"No – it's not. She's so broken, Ahala. I can't just leave her like she is – she'll do something stupid," He was pleading with her now. She could only stare into his eyes helplessly, letting her lips part but not letting any words come out – because she would agree, and if she agreed there would be a fight.

Somewhere in Jacob's scene, Embry had run inside and gotten Sam. The alpha snagged Jacob off the porch and nearly threw him to the ground, and as Ahala watched her imprint convulse for a moment before shedding his skin, she felt herself break into a million pieces. He was so angry – so betrayed – and it was _her _fault. If she would have just never mentioned the Cullens, they could have continued their morning peacefully…

Before she knew it, she was on her knees holding her chest together again, and Emily was running outside to hold her. "Ahala, hon, it's going to be okay – you know how it is when they first phase. Just let him cool down, hon, it's going to be okay."

Ahala was crying now, and she could feel Jacob's eyes on her. She didn't have to be in his mind to know what was going on in there; he was torn between her and Bella. She had read tons and tons of books with this general conflict, written articles on the kind of situation, written stories – and now that she was feeling it, so raw, she knew that she would never do any of those things again.

She watched as a black wolf led a russet wolf into the woods, with a stripping Embry in follow.

"Don't forget our plan, hon," Emily murmured, rubbing Ahala's shoulders comfortingly, "and now you have the upper hand. You're his imprint, right? You've got this."

"This…this isn't a game, Em," Ahala said, "this is a war."

* * *

A few hours had passed and Jacob and Sam had still not returned.

Ahala sat on the porch, smoking one of Paul's cigarettes and keeping her eyes trained on the spot they had disappeared. She was trying not to think too much about the situation, but it was kind of hard when there was nothing else going on in her life; it was literally Pack, food, and Jacob.

It was sad, really.

"Hey, hon?" Emily said from behind, "What do you know about Paul's girl?"

Ahala shrugged and took a drag. "Her name is Jesy and she's pretty cool, I guess."

"Do you think we should invite her over, or would Paul not be okay with that?"

Ahala felt like being mean for a moment; if she were to say it would be a great idea, that would be setting Paul up for torture. He was denying the imprint with every ounce of life force he had – and it would be ruining all the set-up progress he was making…

To hell with it. "That sounds like a great idea. I can go find her, probably."

Emily was ecstatic, and came to sit down beside Ahala. "Great! It's nearly lunch time, maybe I can whip something up for all us, yeah? Just us girls. Of course, she doesn't know anything about the wolves, but maybe she can give us a few tips."

Ahala merely nodded and snuffed out the cigarette on the step, making sure it was completely out before she stood. "I'll be back." She said, and with nothing more than a glance at Emily she began towards the main road.

The walk was pretty short, and she avoided the forest at all costs. Stepping foot in the forest would only tempt her; all she would have to do is call upon her wolf and she could know how everything was going with Jacob.

She was nearly to the corner store when a car rolled up next to her. It was familiar, and when the passenger side window rolled down she recognized the girl at the wheel; Jesy. She forced a smile. "Hey, I was looking for you."

Jesy grinned back. "Really? I was just looking for you," she said, "want a ride?"

Ahala shrugged and nodded, pulling the door open and climbing in. Once the door was shut and she had her seatbelt on, Jesy began to drive. She didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular, so Ahala took the chance to give the invitation. "You wanna come back to Emily's place?"

"Emily?"

"Sam's fiancée. She wanted to invite you over."

Jesy's brows lifted at the notion. "Oh…okay."

"Just turn around, and head down the road. It's straight ahead."

The other girl didn't object. She turned the car around and began to roll down towards Emily's. It was quiet for a little while, but halfway there, Jesy began to speak. "So…your friend," she began, "Paul. What's…what's up with him? He's really…"

"He's really fucked up," Ahala said, "but we love him anyway and he's a good guy."

"That's a brash way of putting it," Jesy laughed, "but he seemed pretty cool. But he just left all of a sudden, like he forgot something. He was falling over tables and everything – is that like, normal?"

"Oh, I guess you could say that," Ahala smiled to herself; all she could think was _'soon'._

Jesy gave an uncomfortable laugh, and didn't let their conversation about him go on any further. "This it?" She asked, slowing by the gravel driveway that led to Emily's.

"Yep,"

They pulled in, and as soon as they came to a stop Ahala hopped out of the car. Jesy was a little hesitant, but eventually slid out and shut the door behind her. Emily was waiting on the porch, holding two glasses of freshly made lemonade and a brilliant smile. Ahala let Jesy go first, watching her face as she took in Emily; there was a little bit of curiosity, but nothing to be worried about.

"Hi! I'm Emily," Greeted the woman, who handed Jesy a glass. "It's lemonade. I had a few lemons lying around so I figured I'd put them to use."

Ahala took hers, and looked to Jesy, "This chick is a genius in the kitchen."

"Oh, I'm not that great," Emily, humble as ever, said, "I've just had a lot of practice."

Emily's way of welcoming people into her home had worked on Jesy; she willingly followed Ahala and Emily into the house, and sat down in front of a plate filled with a sliced tuna sandwich and chips. "Tuna is my favorite," Jesy said, grinning at Emily.

"Really? That's great! I know a few dishes…"

Ahala's mind drifted from the conversation to the forest; when would they be back? It had been nearly three hours already. They couldn't take that much longer to –

Just as Ahala was looking to the door, Paul and Jared burst in. She immediately recoiled from the stench all over them, "What _is _that?" She hissed.

While Paul's eyes found Jesy and widened, Jared grabbed Ahala's arm and hauled her up. "Outside. Now," and then he looked to Paul, "you can stay here."

Ahala didn't object as she was dragged outside. Sam, Jacob, and Embry were standing at the treeline, and Ahala noticed that Jacob's long hair was gone now but she had a feeling that there would be no time to muse over that. Sam's face was stony and cold and Embry looked like he was going to be sick.

"What's going on?" Ahala huffed.

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but Jacob cut him off. "Vampire."

* * *

**A/n - **happy thanksgiving everyone! Think of this chapter a an early Christmas present/thanksgiving feast *heart, since FFn's shitty format won't let me put an actualy heart*

Also, on a sidenote, I'm planning another story called _'Lost'. _It's Twilight, of course, and it involves a girl getting stuck in an alternate universe where it's not just a franchise - it's the real thing. I don't have the first chapter written yet, but it's pretty well planned out. If you would be interested in reading it, let me know!

As always, read and review!


	9. Strategy

"_hold the phone_

_hit repeat_

_got me foamin' at the knees_

_saw the flame, tasted sin_

_you burn me once again_

_cut the cord, she's a creep"_

_ -Aberdeen by Cage the Elephant_

**Chapter IX – Strategy.**

Ahala stared at Jacob with wide eyes. The automatic impulse to reach out and touch him was momentarily stilled by the sheer shock of the situation. His eyes were burning and bloodshot, and he stared at her in a way that she couldn't interpret right at that moment.

"She got to the ocean before we could get her." Sam said, "We need to get inside and come up with a new schedule, we can't –"

"We can't go inside, Sam." Ahala said, forcing her gaze away from her imprint and focusing on her alpha. "Jesy is in there."

Sam sighed, squinting his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Shit; okay. Jared, go tell Paul to get her out of there – and make sure he doesn't leave her alone. If the vamp smells a wolf on her it'll attack."

Jared nodded, and turned back to the house.

"Ahala, Jacob – since you two are the fastest, you're going to be running with me on night patrols. Jared, Embry and Paul will be doing day patrols, and when we have everyone here we're going to come up with a way to alert each other if something goes wrong."

"We're wolves," Jacob said, "we can howl."

Sam looked at Jacob for a moment with an unfathomable expression, and then nodded. "It's good that you're around, Jake. It makes our numbers even." There was a tense silence, and Ahala wanted to know why; what had happened between them in those three hours?

"What's going on?" She asked, moving between her alpha and her imprint.

Jacob's arm encircled her shoulders, and he pulled her back against his chest. "It doesn't matter." She wanted to believe him, but the way Sam looked at her she knew that whatever had happened did matter – and Jacob must've sensed that she knew, because he pulled his arm away and grabbed her hand. "Let's go to the beach, Ahala. We have to talk."

She wasn't sure what to be more alarmed about: the fact that Jacob had said _'we need to talk' _or the look Sam had cast at them before turning and jogging towards the house. It felt as if she'd had the world in her palm just hours ago; it felt as if the world had been dashed into pieces.

He had begun leading her through the forest, but Ahala dug her heels into the ground and halted him. "What's going on, Jacob? There can't be secrets between us. I don't want this to turn into some shitty, mythical love triangle."

He turned and gave her an incredulous look. "_Love triangle?"_

Ahala swallowed the fear rising in her throat and continued. "I know you liked Bella, Jacob."

"Of course I did – I still _do. _If it wasn't for this imprint I would be finding a way to be with her right now…wait…Ahala." He had realized the impact of his words too late; she had taken on that stone cold face – the one Sam used when he was angry or stressed out – and forced her hand away.

"You know," she started, "I'm not playing any of these little teenager games, Jacob. This is real shit. What Bella has going on – that's _real _shit. And…and you're planning to mess everything up by going to her. Don't you know how fucking long I've waited to finally be with you? I mean, fuck, I didn't want to imprint on you at first – but I realized that even without the imprint I would've liked you. And now you're going to fucking sit here and – _and – _fucking hell, Jacob!"

She was trembling so hard, and a terrible feeling was rising in her chest. She felt like she was ripping apart, and as she watched Jacob begin to back away she knew what was happening.

Tatters of her clothes lay strewn around her and she stared at him through new eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ahala." He said, "But I didn't ask for this. It's not right that I have to follow these stupid rules – I should be able to make choices for myself."

She let herself calm down just enough to morph back; she wasn't going to let this conversation be over until everything was okay again. She ignored the way his cheeks reddened when he looked at her. "That's the thing about the Pack, Jacob. You can't make choices for yourself. When you phased, you were bound to us – all of us. You have to consider your brothers – your imprint – and let them help you decide."

"That's not _fair."_

"Hell, I know it's not. But like I said, this is real shit. It's so sad, the way we were all forced to grow up so fast, but we're here for a reason. And now, there's a bloodsucker running around here and I have a feeling it's not looking for a treaty. We can't afford to play any of these games."

Jacob, having shed his shy exterior, approached her and gripped her shoulders. "It's not a game, Ahala. You know this wolf crap had never happened we would've never spared each other another glance."

She sighed. "But it did happen, and we have to face that."

He shook his head. "I can't face that."

* * *

When Ahala got back to Emily's, Jesy and Paul were gone and everyone was sitting at the table. Jacob was trailing behind her, hesitantly; they hadn't exactly ended their argument, but they hadn't continued it either. They were at a standstill, and for now, that would have to do.

They sat next to each other, and too tired to resist the impulse, Jacob placed his hand on Ahala's knee. She didn't object; she was upset with him, but that didn't lessen the way he made her feel.

"We've been working on a new formation," Embry murmured, passing over a piece of notebook paper to Ahala. "The first two wolves are Sam and Paul, since they're the tanks of the Pack. Then, there's me and Jared, and our job is to defend the flanks. That leaves you and Jacob, and since you guys are the fastest your job is to make sure the vamp stays in sight."

Ahala nodded, giving the paper a cursory glance before passing it back to him.

"Alright," Sam said, "Since Paul is away, Jared, Embry and I are going on shift. You guys just…relax," he watched the imprinted couple carefully, before standing and leading Jared and Embry out.

Ahala watched through the screen door as her brothers vanished into the woods, unwilling to meet Jacob's eyes. Her skin was crawling with warmth where his hand was, and she wanted so badly to look into his eyes and kiss him like she had earlier in the morning, but they were in the middle of an argument; she couldn't do that, not if she wanted him to see her side.

"Ahala," he murmured, and his finger was drawing soft lines down her jaw.

She let her eyes close, and in a breath, she said, "Jacob."

"I…what I said earlier, I'm sorry. I want to be with you. But I can't leave Bella like the Cullen guy left her. I can't be that kind of guy," He said, Letting his hands draw down her shoulders to her waist, where he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest.

She just nodded, letting her head lay against his shoulder.

"Which is why you need to help me. Sam put me under his gag order. I can't go see Bella."

At this, Ahala opened her eyes. "You want me to tell her for you?"

She felt Jacob nod.

It was a lot to ask, but it was Jacob; she would do anything for him. Even if it meant letting the only girl who posed a threat to their relationship in on the secret, she would do it; hopefully it would down the high tension in the Pack. "I'll do it," she said, and then turned to smile at him.

He was smiling too, and this time, Ahala didn't have to lean up; Jacob kissed her.

* * *

**A/n - **Surprise! *throws confetti* Yes I'm a little loopy right now because I'm on heavy medication due to an accident with an axe (it was almost in my leg).

Read and review, as always!

But wait...if you're reading this you've already read...so just...

Review? Review. Yes. Thank you!


	10. The Over-Thinker

"_got different people inside my head_

_i wonder which one that they like the best_

_i'm done with tryin' to have it all_

_and endin' up with not much at all"_

_ -Fear and Loathing by Marina and the Diamonds._

**Chapter X – The Over-Thinker.**

Ahala had always been one to overthink things. It could take some random person handing her a tomato on the street to launch her into a whole reevaluation of her life. It was always something she hated about herself; she couldn't go through any normal day without thinking that there was some deeper meaning to be found out.

It was exactly what she was doing now. Jacob lay asleep on the couch and she sat with his feet on her lap, eyes on the television but not really watching it. She kept thinking about the promise she'd made to him, and what it entailed; was she prepared to deal with Bella Swan? She really hadn't been around the girl for any period of time, save for the few times in Jacob's garage, but she had seen the guys' memories.

And from what she had seen of Bella was…well, dangerous – in every sense possible. To go and tell her everything would be putting Jacob, her relationship with him, and essentially the entire Pack at risk.

Could she do that? Could she go on her imprint's whim and put everything at risk? She had worked so hard to build this little world in the past few days, and it had been so long since she'd felt safe and secure like this; it was so domestic, sitting there with Jacob's feet on her lap as he napped. This kind of world offered her something that nothing else ever could.

Normalcy.

Ahala's mind flew back to the first time she'd officially met the guys.

_"Common courtesy is for common people,"_

_"We're supposed to be common, Paul."_

_"But we're not! We turn into giant fucking wolves and protect the res from __vampires__."_

In a way…she supposed Paul was right – about the common thing, anyway. As long as they were wolves, they could never be common. Normalcy came and went in short spurts, usually disrupted by vampires and/or temper tantrums gone wrong. But even so, it was hard to give it up; she knew it would fall away eventually, but she had her cake and she wanted to eat it too.

But _Jacob._

She let her head fall back and she groaned, pulling Jacob out of his nap. Groggily, he said, "What's up?"

She glanced over at him, feeling helpless; apparently there were some things being a werewolf couldn't solve. After a few blinks and eye rubs, he finally seemed to realize the conflict on her features. He sat up, looking slightly concerned. "What's wrong?"

She pursed her lips; would it be a good idea to tell him what was _really _going on?

Against her better judgment, she decided it wasn't. He had imprinted on her, but she knew that he was still 'connected' to her.

As she looked into his eyes, she tried not to let that thought eat at her.

"It's nothing, really," she sighed; none of this was worth the energy she was exerting.

She figured Jacob would press and eventually get the explanation out of her but all that conspired was:

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah,"

"Okay."

And then he laid his head back down on the arm of the couch and closed his eyes, and in moments, he was napping again. At first, Ahala was a little offended; she felt like, in that moment, that this was a one-sided imprint. But after two seconds worth of anger, she wrote it off as him being tired and being a man – those things would definitely result in that kind of reaction.

…right?

_Right, _she assured herself.

After a little while of going over the same thoughts, she attempted to turn her attention on the tv; it was to no avail, though. She couldn't pull herself out of her head. Something was eating at her, and she knew exactly what it was, but when her little world was being threatened by it, why would she want to play the curious cat and get killed?

She sighed in contempt, and gently slid out from under Jacob and flipped the tv off.

Setting off for a scrap paper and writing utensil, she eventually settled for a pen and the back of an old receipt she found under the coffee table.

She scribbled, _'gone to keep my promise. I'll be back with news. –Ahala'._

As Ahala left Emily's, she couldn't help but think of what Jacob had said before their kiss yesterday.

'_I can't face that.'_

* * *

**A/n - **hi! Sorry for such the long wait - and also for the short chapter. I really wanted to make it longer, but ending it where I did felt right.

And also, I do cover requests now! Yay! If you want to see some examples, just head on over to my profile and click the link there.


	11. She's a Bush Diver

"_look outside the box my friend_

_your heart's been dead since who knows when_

_it seems we've missed the mark_

_lost all hope and given in_

_pack up the suitcase_

_take that handkerchief and wipe off your chin_

_the fear that drives you_

_needs to be stopped"_

_ -Lotus by Cage the Elephant_

**Chapter XI – She's a Bush Diver.**

Ahala couldn't do it.

She had already knocked on the lacquered wood and she was panicking. She could hear the commotion of someone trudging down the stairs and the faint tired grumble, and she was positive once that door was opened she couldn't go back – the imprint would compel her forward. The only way to avoid it was to avoid being seen.

Someone's hand was on the doorknob now, and in a flurry of panic, Ahala dove over the railing into the bushes. The moment she landed she knew she broke her arm, but contained her cry; from where she was lying, she could see the gruff face of the Forks sheriff – Charlie Swan.

His brow was furrowed as he glanced about with a dazed sort of confusion, and after a moment he scoffed. "Damn kids," he muttered, and slammed the door closed.

She waited until she heard the resounding steps of him ascending the stairs.

"_Fuck!" _Ahala scream-whispered, as hot tears began to stream down her face. She was crying partly because she had chickened out and partly because her arm was twisted beneath her at an awkward angle and was most definitely broken. She had absolutely no idea how she as going to get out of this, not without screaming for help and essentially turning herself in for trespassing.

She attempted to gently twist herself out of position, but apparently the Swans' had some kind of sick affinity for thorn-bushes, and soon could smell the metallic tones of her own blood. The cuts instantly healed, of course, but those cuts were replaced by more; bushes sucked.

_I should've just faced her, _Ahala thought to herself as she began to twist the other way, which only achieved her some more cuts. She let out a quiet groan, painfully forcing her good hand through brittle brambles of thorns until she felt the smooth, damp grass of the front lawn. Latching on to the few blades, she began to pull herself out.

It was a strenuous process; grass wasn't exactly a good leverage, so she had to reattach her grip to a new set every time the other ripped out. Ahala attempted to keep her mind off of her compromising, humiliating situation. Just the notion of having to explain her broken arm to the Pack made her want to dive into the bushes all over again.

Eventually, after a lot of dragging and pulling, she'd managed to get her torso out of the bushes. She breathed in a breath of fresh air, sighing in contempt; this had been _such _a mistake. What was she going to tell Jacob? _Shit…_

"Ahala?"

Ahala nearly jumped out of her skin. She let out a cry of surprise as she saw the owner of the voice.

Bella _fucking _Swan.

Her brows were pulled together and she was halfway out of her truck and in an attempt to make things slightly less awkward, Ahala put on her most charming smile. "Oh! Hey, I was looking for you."

The other girl seemed to finally fully comprehend the situation, and stepped out of her truck and slammed the truck's door. She strode forward, nearly slipping on the grass but catching herself, and kneeled by Ahala's fallen figure. "What happened to Jake?" She said in a demanding murmur.

Ahala sighed; shit. She _had _to do this, now. "It's what I came here for."

"_You _came here?"

"Well, Jacob asked me to come here."

"He asked you…?" Bella's expression was one between confusion and dumbfound.

Ahala rolled her eyes and sighed, "Just help me get out of this god forsaken bush and I'll explain everything," she thrust her hand at Bella, and the girl stared at it for a moment, like she'd never seen one before. After an awkward moment, she gingerly grabbed Ahala's hand and began to pull.

"_Ouch!"_

"Sorry –"

"No, pull the _other _way –"

"You're – heavy – I mean,"

"No, I know," Ahala ground out, regretting the destruction of her shoes a few weeks ago; kicking through thorns was _not _a fun task. "Okay, just…pull left, and I'll go right. This should work." It sounded like it would work, anyway.

And thankfully, it did; Bella pulled left with all her strength and Ahala kicked her body to the right, and soon, she was lying out in open air and breathing hard. "You know, that's actually a really good work out," she huffed, "not that I'd jump into the bushes again."

"Tell me what's going on." Bella said, throwing a glance towards the door and then looking back to Ahala.

Ahala looked up at Bella incredulously, and scoffed. "Let me get up. Jesus."

Just to piss her off, Ahala took her time getting up.

Once she was up, though, Bella glanced around her yard, and then began back towards her truck. Ahala figured she wanted to talk in there, so she followed. Her strides were longer and faster than Bella's, so she beat her out to the driver's side, and opened the door and slid in. She smirked as the other girl huffed and walked around to the other side.

Once her door slammed shut, Bella looked at Ahala expectantly.

"Well?"

Ahala cleared her throat, and began to speak. "First rule: don't look at my arm. It's…doing a thing that you'll know about it like ten minutes. Second rule: please, for the love of god, don't show up in La Push after I tell you this – we have to keep this little encounter on the DL for now. And, third rule: shut up long enough for me to fully explain what's going on."

Bella had taken on a look of foreboding. The girl knew about vampires, Ahala knew that much; werewolves shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? As she began to explain, though, she felt she had thought wrong; Bella looked like she was going to hurl.

"…please don't toss your cookies, Swan." Ahala arched her brow and leaned away.

Bella shook her head, "No…I'm okay."

"Er…okay. Where was I? Oh, yes – the whole changing thing," she continued, "well…there's this really weird, stupid thing that happens to certain kids on the res. Like, it really depends on the lineage of that kid. But there's this gene we all have, and it's really unexplainable and if the world found out we'd get sent to a lab –"

"Werewolves?"

Ahala shrugged and nodded. "Nice – didn't even need to go through the whole process."

"Jacob is a…werewolf."

Ahala nodded, and smiled.

"And you are…too?"

Again, she nodded.

Bella lurched forward, tackling Ahala hard against the closed driver's door.

* * *

**A/n - **I made a fast update! Woo. I really like this chapter - Ahala and Bella are so different in contrast, and I love making them interact - it's amazing! But yeah - this is sort of an apology for such the long wait for chapter 10 :)

But anyway, yeah. Review, as always!


	12. Revenge Kisses

"_i took a walk on a saturday night_

_fog in the air_

_just to make my mind seem clear_

_where do i go from here?_

_i see my breath pushing steam through the air_

_shaking hands run through my hair_

_my fears, where do i go from here?"_

_ -My Fault by Imagine Dragons_

**Chapter XII – Revenge Kisses.**

Ahala screamed as she toppled out of the car, getting a face full of Bella's foot and slamming her head hard against the concrete of the curb. She was feeling very beat up, what with her broken arm, cracked skull, and broken nose; it was hard to believe just an hour ago she had been perfectly fine.

Just an hour ago, she hadn't been with Bella Swan.

At that moment, as she heard the front door slam behind Bella, it would've been easy to call upon her wolf right then and there. If she hadn't been in the middle of a small town suburb, she might've. So, unfortunately, she picked herself up and slammed the stupid truck's door shut and began to trudge towards the forest bordering the house. At the edge, she tore her clothes off and phased.

"…_woah!"_

"_What the-"_

"_Holy shit, you're beat up!"_

Ahala growled, a primal way of telling her brothers to shut the fuck up. She was pissed beyond belief – especially so when she looked down in the dirt to find her blood dripping and forming a puddle at her feet. Her nose was bleeding, along with a few cuts that had yet to heal.

"_You _told _her? Are you fucking serious, Ahala? Sam is going to kill you!" _Jared's thoughts cut through her assessments, and she didn't need to see him to know that his hackles had risen; she could feel the angry, nervous edge that had sliced through his mind the moment she had begun to think about Bella. Embry and Paul, too, were angry; their thoughts were silent, not needing to be projected to get their emotions across.

Ahala spit out a canine, licking the empty spot where it had been; a new one was already growing to replace it. _"I did, I am, and I know." _Aside from the fact that she had done it for Jacob, she completely regretted it; she hadn't really gained anything from it, aside from blood loss and a headache. _Oh, _she wanted to hurt that girl right now!

"_Phase back, Ahala. You won't heal properly if you're phased." _Said Paul, even through thought managing to sound withdrawn; something was up with him, and perhaps Ahala would've asked if she hadn't been so distracted with her own self. All she really retained was that he was acting like an older brother should, and pointedly thought that; Embry mentally rolled his eyes at that while Jared growled fierily.

"_I'm going to kick your ass when I see you Ahala. Then I'll hand you over to Sam."_

"_See you then, Jared." _She thought curtly, before phasing out. In the momentary rush of energy that came along with being able to change forms, emotions and sensations hit their peak; it was only for a short couple of seconds, but she nearly let out a shriek as the small stinging of cuts began to feel like gashes cutting across her abdomen.

"You're lucky I was close, little lady," Paul sauntered forward, tossing his t-shirt at her. She had clothes of her own some ways back near the edge of the forest, but she really didn't want to get that close to Bella again; partly because she didn't want to kill her and partly because she was scared she might attain more injuries. "We're going to walk back to Em's. You have to explain what just happened to me, okay? I wanna back you up."

Ahala pulled the t-shirt over her head, and nodded. "Thanks, Paul," She said, before lurching into her tale; she began all the way back when Jacob asked her to do this – ignoring his growl – and continuing all the way up through the part where Bella nearly broke her skull against the car door and spilled her out on to the curb. Although he had smirked a little at the bush bit, he was completely stoic.

"Black put you up to this, then."

Ahala frowned a little. "Yeah. Nothing…wrong with that, right?"

"There's actually a lot wrong with that, Ahala. He's fucking using you."

Immediately, Ahala recoiled at that – of course she had _known _that, in some little part of herself, but to hear it from someone like Paul was enough to collapse the support beams she had propped under she and Jacob's relationship in her mind. She looked at him with wide, helpless eyes – realizing her situation. "I'm his imprint, though – he can't be completely – you know –"

"Imprints aren't as foolproof as you think," his features visibly darkened, and for a second, Ahala thought he must've been having his own battles with imprinting, "it's like forcing two kids to be friends. They don't like each other, but they have to because their parents'll have their ass hung on the mantle if they don't."

"And in this case, the Gods are our parents?"

"Shitty ones, at that."

They were quiet for a moment as the trekked through the forest. Paul seemed to be stewing in a silent pot of anger, brow furrowed and fists trembling, while Ahala assessed her current situation – which had put her right back at square one with Jacob. _Fuck._

"Don't let him do this to you, Ahala. Get away while you still can."

She looked to her older brother. "While I still can? Paul, I don't think I can leave now…"

He shook his head. "You haven't fucked him or made any sort of marriage promise – you sure as hell can still leave. Fuck, I'll help you – go with you. Once Sam knows he'll understand, I know he will –"

"Paul –"

"Somewhere in Canada, or California maybe –"

"_Paul –"_

"Once some kids phase they can take our place and that'll be our ticket to finally –"

"PAUL."

He finally snapped out of it and looked at Ahala. "What?"

"We _can't _leave. You know that."

It hurt her to see pain flash across his features, but she knew she was right; they couldn't leave – not ever. Unless they were given reason to stop phasing, they would be here forever and protect the res for as long as they lived – and apparently, that was for eternity, as long as they weren't killed off. It was shitty fate, but she had long ago accepted it; she just wished her brother would, too.

The pain on his face contorted into a scowl, "Ahala, you and I…we're – we're the most fucked up Pack members, alright? They're always wondering which one of us is going to have a break down next. Hell, Jared and Embry make bets on it. With us out of the picture, things would be much better."

She ignored the pang of hurt in her chest as she looked at him. "We're…I'm not fucked up."

He laughed, as if there was something to laugh about. "Please! Ahala, you have some weird ass daddy complex and I fucking watched my mom shoot herself in the face. I'll give it to you that you're a lot better off than I am, and that you're a tons more optimistic than I am – but you're still fucked. _All of us _are fucked, okay?"

"Daddy complex? What the hell?" She was beginning to trembled herself, now; her wolf was rising to the surface.

"I've been inside your head, kid," his voice cracked as he spoke, "I know what you're into, what you look for. And you know what I've seen – you know how much shit I've been through."

"Stop playing the victim card, Paul, you're stronger than this."

"Victim card? _Victim card? _Holy fuck, have you been hanging around Embry lately? You're starting to sound as much of an asshole as he is. Shit, Ahala, I love you like my real little sister – but if you're gonna stand around –"

"If I'm gonna stand around and believe you're not as fucked up as you think you are, then I'm a good damn sister. And you know, you should do the same for me." She stopped and moved to stand before him, letting her glare penetrate his guarded eyes.

He grew quiet. "I…"

"That's what you need, Paul. For someone to believe in you. And in fact, I'm sure there's another person out there who would agree with me – like Jesy. I don't know her that well, but I know that she's a nice girl. If you gave her a chance –"

"Don't start with the imprint shit, Ahala."

"Don't give me a reason to, Paul."

They stood there for a moment, glaring at one another. They were feral; primal.

Feral and primal, yes, until Paul moved forward and swooped Ahala into a kiss. She could feel the smile bubbling on his lips as she fought against him, pushing at his chest and shoving at his face with the heels of her hands. He kept his lips pressed firmly against hers until he seemed to realize that they still needed to breathe.

She was breathing hard and evidently had a few ruffled feathers, and she reached out to slap his shoulder. "What the _hell _are you doing? Was that some sort of sick joke?"

All he did was laugh, and move past her. "It's some payback for Jacob."

* * *

**A/n - **Thoughts?


	13. It Will Never Be the Same Again

"_and for a while things were cold_

_they were scared in their holes_

_the forest that once was green_

_was colored black by those killing machines"_

_ -Dirty Paws by Of Monsters and Men_

**Chapter XIII – It Will Never Be the Same Again.**

Ahala was thirteen when she had her first boyfriend. His name had been Gavin Rivers and he was a snot-nosed, acne-ridden boy who had just happened to be in the right place at the right time. They'd met at a La Push Junior High dance, and hung around the food and punch table until six o' clock – the end of the dance. Apparently, that was equivalent to a date and through various meetings of their groups of friends and a whole lot of coaxing, somehow ended up on First Beach together, awkwardly discussing their disheveled feelings for each other.

"So, you, uh, like me?" He'd stuttered through too-full lips.

Ahala's face reddened and she dipped her head. "Y-yeah."

"I…like you too, sorta. Your hair is pretty…pretty cool."

"So…are we gonna like, go out?" Ahala mumbled, biting down hard on her bottom lip as she waited for his answer; she hoped he didn't expect a kiss or anything, because she had no idea what to do when it came to them.

"Yeah, if you want to."

"I do," she replied, attempting to sound not so eager.

"Cool," he'd smiled timidly then.

It had felt like the beginning of a new era; a new part of her life that had been created not by her mother or teachers, but by her. It was strangely freeing in the way that she grabbed his hand and weaved her fingers through his sweaty ones; she had never quite figured out why she had felt that way, even as she entered Emily's and saw Jacob sitting at the table, head in his hands.

The distress was coming off of him in waves, sending tendrils of anxiety threading their way through her nerves. "Jake," she murmured, moving around the table and sitting beside him, "what's going on?" Now, from where she sat, she could smell his salty tears and see the redness around his eyes. He looked at her like she had just stepped all over his sandcastle in the sandbox.

"My dad got a call from Bella," he said evenly, but the fury in his voice was evident, "what the hell did you say to her, Ahala? She fucking hates me now. She'll never talk to me again. She thinks I'm like that monster she dated. Fuck – _she thinks I'm like him –"His_ fists began to tremble, but not for long because he slammed them hard down on the table, turning his white-hot glare on her.

He opened his mouth to yell, but was interrupted by a muscular arm yanking her out of her seat.

"Don't you dare yell at her, Black. She did exactly what you wanted her to. It's the paleface that freaked out. I saw the whole thing; let's head out to the forest and while I'm kicking your ass you can watch a replay." Paul shoved his trembling, traumatized sister behind his back and crossed his arms.

"I asked her to tell Bella, not traumatize her. And what – are you two a thing now? I smell you all over her, Paul. On her lips. If you think pissing me off is going to make me weaker, you've got another thing coming," he leaned a little, looking at Ahala behind Paul, "how does it fucking feel, huh? To be the nastiest whore on the entire _fucking _reservation?"

"_Fuck _no you just didn't," Paul was on Jacob faster than Ahala could count to three. Although she wasn't really focused on that; she was more focused on the words running through her head. The more times she thought of Jacob (her imprint, her love) saying that to her, the more times she was positive she heard her heart fracture. He was angry and probably would regret talking to her in such a way later, but she was still so human; the emotions that filled her heart and head and stomach were telling her that he'd meant it, that even in his anger there was a little bit of truth. He really felt that way; he really, really felt that way.

She fell back on her seat and breathed out the broken fragments of her heart. As she stared down at the floor she watched them fall, hitting the wood and splattering like droplets of crimson against snow. Outside she could hear the tearing of fur and flesh, the barks of a young, inexperienced wolf who had once again been taken over by his rage, and the sound of her protector, her brother doing what her imprint had failed to do.

"Hon – hon, calm down. You need to breathe, Ahala, _breathe," _Emily's voice was reaching her through murky waters, though just barely; she was swimming deep, deep, and deeper in the brown, polluted water of her mind. Through the mess, she began to mumble something, unknown to herself or Emily.

"…I'm…I'm a mess, Em. I'm a mess."

"Yes, hon, you are. Let's get you up to the shower, run some cold water on you. That'll cool you off, okay? Okay. Let's go – come on –" Through her best efforts, Emily supported the wolf girl all the way up the stairs and into the bathroom, and even managed to situate her in the tub.

The cold water steamed off of Ahala's skin and really didn't seem to make much of a difference to her. Her eyes were still wide with terror and her lips were still slightly parted in disbelief. Emily had some wolf-ass to kick – these guys had no idea how to handle a girl's feelings!

"Ahala, stay here for me, okay? I'm going to go downstairs and take care of some things. Maybe take yourself a shower; just…just freshen up and come down when you're all set and ready," Emily gave the girl a soft smile and leaned forward and kissed her forehead, before standing and leaving.

Emily was small and dainty, but hell, her words weren't.

* * *

Ahala resurfaced under the cold water with a blink. There was a hole in her chest and the water passed through it with ease, pattering against the tub with a hollow sort of sound. As she looked down at her chest, she couldn't see it – but oh, she knew it was there; all too well.

The t-shirt she had been wearing was soaked and stuck to her body like paint, so slowly, she rose out of the tub and out of the water, peeling it off and hanging it over the towel rack. Even now, as she stood in the mirror and stared at herself in all of her possible nakedness, she could not see the hole. She poked at the emptiness a few times, confirming the solid skin and bone that covered it – but she was so sure, so positive that there was something missing.

"…_no idea! You guys have no idea how to handle a girl. I feel like I'm talking to a bunch of junior high boys, and you know, I might as well be! Sam – where were you when all of this was happening? Ahala is only sixteen, did you think she could handle all of this imprint stuff on her own? And _Jacob, _I could just choke you!..."_

The yelling downstairs finally reached Ahala's ears. With a false kind of eagerness, she shut the water off and grabbed a towel, effectively covering herself. She flipped the lights off as she left the bathroom, padding down the steps and stopping at the very bottom one.

Emily stood at the head of the table, while the guys sat with their heads down. Every one of them looked ashamed; Ahala attempted to meet each one of their eyes, but they wouldn't look at her.

"Hello, hon. I hope you're doing well. Why don't you go get dressed and after I'm finished up here, I'll take you out for some dinner and maybe a movie. Whatever you feel like doing." The smile worn by the other woman was nearly terrifying, and even Ahala – who was being defended – felt a little ashamed.

Ahala nodded, "O…okay."

"There should be a fresh set of clothes for you in the guest room."

Ahala nodded again, and as quickly as she appeared, she vanished. Happy to get away from the tense air in the dining room, she shut herself in the guest room and began to dress. Emily had laid out a nice blue sundress for her with a pair of cute underwear and a bra. Not wanting to cross with her, Ahala put on the once-familiar objects.

With a glance at herself in the mirror, she grabbed a hair tie off the dresser and laced her hair into a braid, letting it lie down her back. Admittedly, it felt nice to dress normally again; it'd been ages since she'd worn actual underwear. Despite the absence of a breeze, it was pretty average. Just like she remembered it.

She descended the stairs slowly, peering down into the dining room before emerging. The guys were gone now, and Emily was waiting for her at the door with her purse over her shoulder. "Here, hon, put these on. Can't go barefoot to a restaurant," she threw down a pair of plain brown sandals, and Ahala didn't waste any time putting them on.

"Let's get going. I'm sure things will be _perfect _when we get back."

There was a startled clatter in the kitchen as Emily said that, but before Ahala could question it, Emily was yanking her out the door.

* * *

**A/n - **Hey! It's been a while! Merry Christmas guys! I hope it was wonderful for every one of you.

Review, as always :)


	14. Of Doghouses and Collisions

"_we've got obsessions_

_i want to wipe out all the sad ideas that come to me when i am holding you_

_we've got obsessions_

_all you ever think about are sick ideas involving me, involving you"_

_ -Obsessions by Marina and the Diamonds_

**Chapter XIV – Of Doghouses and Collisions.**

Jacob was in the doghouse.

Well, it was actually the cabinet under the sink.

"Let me the _fuck _out of here, Paul!" Jacob's fist splintered the small wooden door, and with an angry snarl he curled his fingers into the legs of his pants; if he broke Emily's kitchen, it was almost certain death – and, despite the current situation, he didn't really want to die.

…well…not that much, anyway.

"If you wanna act like a middle schooler, then you're gonna get treated like one," came the smug, answering voice of Paul; the smirk in his voice irked Jacob to the core. If it wasn't for the imminent destruction of Emily's little kitchen, Jacob would've phased right then and there and took Paul's head off. He was getting so sick of the guy's shit, what, with kissing _his _imprint, acting like a dick all the time, _kissing Ahala, _eating everything in the fridge, _fucking kissing his imprint on the fucking lips._

Jacob, careful not to break anything, pushed against cabinet door, but to no avail; Paul had his lard ass pressed against it and was giving no signs of moving anytime soon. Until someone decided to stop Jacob's misery, he was stuck here; and he was pretty sure that would be a while. Everyone was a little more than upset with him.

"When Ahala gets here," Paul said, "you're going to beg for her forgiveness. Literally, beg. Down on your knees like the bitch you are and sob. That girl thinks the world of you and you don't give her shit back."

Jacob grunted, and surprisingly with the little space he had, crossed his arms. "I give her what she wants."

"She _wants _you to love her like an imprint should."

"Hypocrite."

"Shut up."

"What, because I'm right? You can sit there and preach it but you can't take it. I know what happened between you and Jesy the night the vamp showed up," there was silence on the other side of the door, and Jacob reveled in it, "and you won't call her back. Don't you think she feels the exact same way Ahala does?"

"Our situation is different," Paul replied, "I'm doing her a favor and you're messing with Ahala's head."

Pretentious laughter escaped Jacob's lips, "Is that what you tell yourself?"

It happened so fast Jacob nearly missed it.

Paul wrenched the door open, flung Jacob's arms out of the way, and gave him the worst titty-twister he was positive he'd ever experienced and then slammed the door shut again. Jacob howled in pain, clutching his chest and repressing tears of pain. "Oh, shit, shit, shit –"

"Keep talking, asshole. See what happens next."

"Noted," Jacob grunted, biting down hard on his lip to suppress the oncoming whimper.

Jacob heard the kitchen door swing open and several pairs of bare feet pad across the floor. Someone snickered, and said, "You still got him in there, Paul?" _Embry, you little fuck – I thought we were friends._

"Hell yeah I do. And he's staying in here until Ahala and Em get back."

"That's cruel,"

"It's payback."

"Whatever you say, but if he's in any way permanently damaged you're paying for it, Paul." Sam said, but the way he said it suggested that Paul would probably just get a pat on the back and a discrete hundred dollar bill for permanently damaging Jacob.

All of his so-called brothers shared a hardy laugh, and then all filed out of the kitchen – presumably to straighten up the house like Emily had told them to – save for Paul. Paul's unassigned job was to make Jacob's life as miserable as possible for the next hour and a half; something he was an expert at.

As if reading his mind, Paul sighed in content and said, "I love making you miserable."

"Really? Couldn't tell."

"You want another titty-twister?"

Jacob's stony silence answered that.

This was going to be a long, long hour and a half.

"Hey, tell me how this smells, Black."

_So, so very long._

* * *

"Ahala. Ahala, you've got to calm d –"

"Emily, I swear to the ever-fucking Gods if you say that one more time I will rip your boobs off."

"Erm…okay. Just…err…I don't _know."_

Wearing nothing but the tatters of her old dress, Ahala sat in the passenger seat of Emily's car, trembling and attempting to hold herself together. The driver's door was open and Emily sat half in half out, simultaneously trying to calm down a sobbing, crying mother and a stressed out, aggravated werewolf.

Needless to say, the night wasn't going very well.

"My baby's a _werewolf!"_

"Giada, you can't be so _loud –"_

"But my little girl – oh, this wasn't in _'How to Raise Your Teenager'…"_

Ahala closed her eyes and let her head fall against the window. Tonight had been an absolute disaster; setting aside the whole thing with Jacob, on the way to dinner Emily had run over a fallen pack of nails – yeah, they'd just been lying in the road; can you believe their luck? – and had to pull over by an abandoned convenience store. Already having been stressed out and shaken up, Ahala had gotten out of the car to pace off some of the weight on her mind.

It had been working fantastically – until a car came screeching towards her, and sent her flying into the chained glass doors of the store. If Ahala was normal, she probably would've just laid down and died like the good little human she could've been; but…nothing was ever that easy for her, right?

Right there, in front of the unsuspecting driver, she phased.

The only good thing about it was that no one else was phased. It was the second time that day that she revealed herself to someone who wasn't supposed to be on the in the secret – if anyone had seen that, she would've been dead meat.

That was – legitimately – the only good thing.

Because, coincidently, her mother had seen her get out of the car while driving by and swerved in surprise, and lost control. Small world, right? And of course, her mother lost her shit and started screaming and trying to call the cops, and thankfully, Emily was fast enough to stop her.

This brought them to this moment, with Ahala trying to drown out the sound of her mother's sobs and Emily's yells that were becoming progressively angrier.

"Please calm down, let me explain –"

"I can't do this, oh god –"

"_Giada, _please _calm down –"_

"How can I calm down? I just watched my baby –"

"Shut up, sit down, and let me explain. Your daughter could really use a helping hand that isn't mine, because frankly, I have no idea what to do right now. She's got some serious problems going on."

"Werewolf…problems?"

Emily sighed. "Yes. Werewolf problems."

Ahala cracked one eye open and watched her mother leaning against the dented side of her truck, and in a childlike manner, began to listen to Emily explain; the change, the imprint, the whole Bella-Jacob-Ahala thing – everything.

Only half listening, Ahala opened the glove compartment and sifted around for the pack of cigarettes she knew were there, and pulling them out. She thanked Sam's stressing habit as she pulled one out and used the car's lighter to light it.

"Oh, no – are you _smoking _Ahala? We talked about that –"

"Just…just let her be. She'll be okay."

Ahala smiled at her mom and blew out a puff of smoke, before rolling down her window and gazing out into the blackness of the night. It was only eight o' clock, but it felt much later; Ahala supposed when you stuffed so much conflict into only a couple of hours, that was the effect.

Nearly asleep, Ahala continued to smoke her cigarette and listen to Emily.

* * *

**A/n - **this chapter is weird, and I like it.

Reviews keep me going, folks! I'm on Christmas Break with nothing to do, entertain me!


	15. Sincere Apologies

"_oh, my talking bird_

_though you know so few words_

_they're on infinite repeat_

_like your brain can't keep up with your beak_

_and you're kept in an open cage_

_so you're free to leave or stay_

_sometimes you get confused_

_like there's some hint i am trying to give you"_

_ -Talking Bird by Death Cab for Cutie_

**Chapter XV – Sincere Apologies.**

When Ahala and Emily finally got back, it was 10 o' clock. The lights were still on in the house, but the usual noise that accompanied the boys was absent; they must've either been asleep or behaving – and the latter was very unlikely. As Ahala climbed out of the car, she nodded to Emily, who was looking exhausted and obviously dreading the trip upstairs; Sam would never yell at Emily, but there was no doubt he would be upset about the car.

"Go ahead before me. I've gotta prepare my apology speech," Emily said, offering a tired smile.

Ahala gave a half-hearted laugh and closed the door. She looked at Emily long enough to see the woman drop her head on the steering wheel and give a sigh, before she moved her attention to the house standing before her. Panic began to tickle her stomach; Jacob was waiting for her inside – and that thought sent her spiraling to the next, which was _'what if he's not waiting at all?'. _Maybe Sam had given him permission to go see Bella, and he had explained everything that Ahala had failed to, and they had packed their bags and taken off in that stupid red truck. And now, somewhere, they were in a motel doing the very thing that Ahala and he were meant to do –

She grasped a supporting beam on the porch to steady herself, feeling dizzy. She realized that if she didn't go in and face the truth now, she would continue to stand out here and dish out _'what ifs' _until she was physically sick. And considering that her kind didn't get sick, she figured that would be a bad thing.

So, gathering her bearings, Ahala pushed off her support and moved towards the door. She pushed it open with mock confidence, trying to ignore the way her nerves were crawling under her skin, as if they were trying to escape.

"Welcome home," Paul's brotherly embrace was the first to greet her as she stepped over the threshold. "All of us are sorry for the shit way we treated you. We're still getting ahold of interacting with a girl."

Ahala smiled faintly and pushed her brother away, shaking her head. "Don't apologize,"

From the dining table, Jared scoffed. "Don't even start with that. We spent all night coming up with that."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Well, then your apology is accepted."

Before any of the guys could respond, Paul was sweeping her past them and into the kitchen, where upon entering, she noticed a broom stuck through the handles on the cabinet under the sink. "What's that?" She asked.

From behind her, Paul sniggered. "It's a surprise for you."

"I don't think I really want a surprise that's under the sink,"

"Surprisingly, you do. It's really unfortunate actually."

She quirked her brow at him, and in response he just smirked and bowed out of the swinging door, leaving her to her surprise. Tentatively, of course, she approached it; she didn't think the guys would be so bold to mess with her now, but one never knew. They were so unpredictable.

Slowly, she pulled the broom out of the handles and set it aside. She crouched down, pulling open the door to find…

Jacob. He was really stuffed in there, too. His knees were close to touching the end of his nose, and he was completely asleep; Ahala wasn't sure if she should laugh or be mortified. In a mix between both, she seized his arm gently and shook it. He awoke with a start, glancing around blearily before settling his gaze on her.

"Ahala," he breathed tiredly.

Her heart stuttered. "Jake." His words were flooding back into her mind; she could feel her heart ripping itself apart again. As she helped him out, she wondered vaguely how her arms had stayed attached to her body. Her whole torso was unraveling and he didn't even notice.

He stretched himself out once he was standing, groaning. As he did this, she moved around him and slid up onto the counter, crossing her ankles and patiently waiting for him. Her heart was going too fast for her to count the beats, so she focused on the rhythmic, song-like tempo it made and did everything she could do keep her gaze off of him.

"Ahala, look at me,"

She didn't.

"I'm sorry for what I said. I just…I was angry, okay?"

She bit down hard on her lip, and kept her gaze trained on her knees.

"Ahala, please just look at me,"

Swallowing hard, she shook her head. "I can't,"

"Why not?"

"Because then I'll know why I can't let you go to Bella and I know there's no way to stop you from doing that," she sucked in a shaking breath, "Jacob, if I…if I look at you, there's no way I'll be able to lose you."

He sighed, _"Fuck," _and he moved to lean against the counter beside her. Instinctually, his hand travelled to her knee. "Ahala…I'm so confused. Really, really fucking confused. I mean, Bella was the first girl that I ever loved, and just when I was getting close to having her, all of _this _happened," he began to move his hand in methodical circles against her thigh, "and then I met you – like, really met you – and suddenly I have this one girl I've loved since forever and then I have you, and I can't even begin to explain you –"

She scoffed, and with a shaking hand she reached up to wipe away a tear, "I've got a good idea."

"Shit, no, that's not what I meant," he sighed again, "listen, Ahala, I love you. Flat out, I love you. And it's not really my choice, but after a while my wolf's opinions start becoming my opinions. And you know what? You're pretty damn cool. I feel like a piece of shit for manipulating you like I did, and maybe I am. But I'm a piece of shit who loves you."

With a tear-streaked face, she peered up at him. "I really can't let you go now."

He smiled. "Don't, then."

Smiling and sniffling, she reached around his shoulders, pulling him flush against her. She met his eyes as she kissed him, watching for any sign of deception; he stared right back, unabashedly. Soon they were lost, with him wedged between her legs and her arms snaked around his hips.

* * *

**A/n - **aha! I got it done. I hope you guys liked it. I tried to really show you what was going on in Jacob's head.

As always, review! They mean a lot to me!


	16. She Who Fears the Mist

"_a wolf, wolf and i,_

_we share the same cold meal_

_i float on, float on down_

_we ride, we ride, we ride_

_we ride it all out"_

_ -Six Weeks by Of Monsters and Men_

**Chapter XVI – She Who Fears the Mist.**

Ahala held up her tattered dress, grinning sheepishly and she looked at Sam through the holes. Behind her Jacob placed one hand on her shoulder and one hand on her hip, sensing what was about to transpire; he'd been there just earlier that day, and hell if he would let Ahala have her feelings crushed by Sam just when the foundations had been rebuilt.

"No one saw you, right?" Sam spoke slowly, that stone cold look slipping too easily on to his features. He was more strained than usual – which probably means Emily had told him about the car already. Ahala wasn't exactly sure, because the time inbetween meeting Jacob's lips with hers and pulling away felt indefinite (perhaps infinite). She had left Emily in the car and kind of lost track from there.

Ahala pursed her lips, opening her mouth to say something, before snapping them shut and nodding. She winced at the way a vein appeared under the skin on his forehead, and attempted to smile. "Sam, it wasn't some stranger, though – you just have to let me explain."

"Okay, do that, before I kill someone tonight."

Jacob leaned down and kissed Ahala's cheek, whispered a sweet nothing in her ear, and vanished up the stairs. She fought off a smirk and pulled a seat out for Sam, letting him sit before she settled beside him; if they had been in a cartoon, the vein in Sam's forehead would have been ridiculously huge and pulsing.

He dropped his head into his hands and sighed. "Just explain so I can get back to patrol."

Ahala smiled apologetically and began. She started with the conversation she and Emily had been having before they hit the box of nails (_"…serious, Ahala, I didn't know seahorses were real until I was seventeen…"), _and the moved on to the abandoned gas station. She explained how she had climbed out of the car to pace off her stress and see if she could fix the tire, and how an SUV had come flying towards her and knocked her straight into the gas station _(can you blame me for phasing after being hit by a car?), _and then, she told him how she shook out her fur and looked into the eyes of her terrified mother, and of course – the rest.

"It was your mom, then."

"Yes,"

"So I don't have to bribe anyone," Sam slumped against the table in relief, sighing.

Ahala gave a half-hearted laugh and placed a kiss on her brother's temple, before standing. She glanced at his slumped (defeated?) form, before heading upstairs. She followed Jacob's musky scent trail, more for fun than anything; sometimes it felt nice to indulge in the super-senses being a werewolf offered you – plus, Jacob's scent.

When she found him, he was lying under the blankets on the bed in the guest bedroom, head propped on one hand and eyes trained on the doorway, where she now stood. She recognized bedroom eyes when she saw them, but knew better; their relationship was still tentative, having barely started an hour ago.

It was cute, though.

Giggling a little, she strode over to the bed, slid under the blankets, and fell asleep.

* * *

Ahala awoke in the late afternoon to an empty bed and a tense silence.

Instinctually, she immediately knew that the guys weren't home – not because of the silence, but because of the impassive air that hung heavy around her. Tripping and falling out of the blankets, she stumbled downstairs, stripping the t-shirt that had replaced her dress last night and throwing it down on the floor. Nearly breaking the front door, she flew off the porch and phased in the front yard.

"_Glad you could join us," _Jared's voice chimed in.

"_Leave her alone," _Jacob said (Paul's unsaid agreement was there), _"go home Ahala. I don't want you to get hurt."_

The she wolf snorted at her imprint and began to jog towards the woods. _"I've been in the game longer than you, Jacob. You don't have to worry about me."_

"_You've never even seen a vampire."_

"_Do you even know what we're doing?"_

Feeling incredibly useless and a little hurt, Ahala quickened her jog and attempted to push away her feelings of contempt. She appreciated their protectiveness, but she was a werewolf for a reason; if she wasn't any good at hunting vampires, then she wouldn't be here. Now, of course, she hadn't really even seen one before, but she had scented one – and that was rancid enough to send her into frenzy. She ignored her brother's (and imprint's) degrading thoughts and continued towards them, picking up fairly fresh trails of the putrid-bleachy scent that they were tracking.

"_It's a clever one. It must figure that if it runs in circles that it'll confuse our sense of smell."_

"_Just stay close. Two of you go flank Ahala."_

Jacob and Paul broke off from the triangle.

Ahala, meanwhile, was beginning to feel uneasy; it was a feeling that began in her head that reached her stomach. It was unexplainable and the guys didn't seem to notice it, so she figured it wasn't too big of a deal. Besides, she was coming up on a really fresh scent trail, and if something were to come up she couldn't afford to be unprepared.

"_Hey, that's pretty fresh, you think –"_

"_Yeah, let's hurry, fuckface."_

The temperature around Ahala was dropping and she was beginning to feel cold (definitely not good). She was now ambling aimlessly down an abandoned forest trail, and she swore she could see something – someone? – in her peripheral vision, but she every time she looked nothing was there. Her heart was beating so fast, and under her fur, she began a cold sweat.

Where the hell were Jacob and Paul? And the other guys? Their thoughts had all but ceased. She was completely alone in her mind. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she noted this as completely dangerous and wrong – but the fog that was forming before it kept the knowledge at bay.

And…it wasn't proverbial fog, either. It was gathering around her.

She came to a stop, curling her claws into the ground. Why was it so thick? Fog wasn't usually so thick. But as it began to drift out in some places, she caught glimpses – and soon, scents – of bloodied, destroyed bodies.

Her mind was still forming the horror of dead bodies when she recognized their faces.

Her brothers.

* * *

**A/n - **don't hate me - please.

(please review, and if you hate me, tell me how much!)


	17. Amplified

"_in the valley of the dolls, we sleep_

_got a hole inside of me_

_living with identities_

_that do not belong to me"_

_ -Valley of the Dolls by Marina and the Diamonds_

**XVII – Amplified.**

Ahala should've run; she knew that much.

For some inexplicable reason, her paws stayed sinking in the dirt, and with a shocked sort of horror, she stared down at the mutilated bodies of her once very lively brothers. She couldn't comprehend it – she should have seen it coming, right? She should've heard their last thoughts, their desperate barks and howls, Sam's thoughts of Emily, Paul's thoughts of Jesy…

But they had gone as silent as the breeze that tussled her fur.

Her legs were shaking but she wouldn't fall. She felt so alone in that one moment, so hopeless; she could feel every defense and every frivolity crumbling in her mind, leaving nothing but a wolf that no longer held the innocence of a teenage girl. She was feral, deserted, lone. The leech was nowhere in sight, but the acrid scent hung on every morsel of air that drifted on the fading fog; she would find it, and rip it to shreds. She would make it feel what her brothers felt. With nothing but instinct and rage to push her forward, she started off at a sprint, frothing at the mouth and narrowly avoiding her fallen brothers on the ground as she crossed over them.

She was no longer Ahala Leighton. She was no longer sixteen years old. She was just, perhaps, no longer; for what was a wolf without its pack?

* * *

Sam paced in the living room. Jacob sat with his head between his knees, rocking back and forth. Paul and Jared sat in tense silence at the dining table. Emily and Embry sat on the porch in silence.

Ahala wouldn't wake up.

She was alive, no doubt; her heart was beating faster than the wings of a hummingbird. The leech hadn't gotten close enough to sink its fangs into her, and it hadn't laid a finger on her; all of them had seen the whole thing. She had met its eyes and passed out on the spot – she must have fainted, right?

…right.

"Fuck, man," Jacob wheezed, looking up at Sam, "I'm going to be sick."

Sam sent the young wolf a sidelong glance. "She's alive, Jake. We've got to wait for the Elders to finish of their analysis."

Jacob huffed and shook his head, "They're a bunch of old farts – what would they know?"

"They know old remedies and rituals on how to purge venom out of a wolf. Trust them, Jake. They've been in the game way longer than any of us," Sam replied.

"She wasn't bit, Sam. You saw it."

Sam turned his head away from Jacob, ending their conversation. There was no time for what they had seen; something strange was going on, and there was a possibility that he would lose a pack member to it. What if vampires had some kind of new attack? Were they evolving? Could they even _do _that? And if that was the case, would the wolves evolve too? They had been created to take down the vamps, but now, if they were changing…

The heavy, lumbering steps of an old man coming down the steps alerted the wolves. Jacob shot out of his spot, pushing past Sam and nearly knocking over the table on his way to the bottom of the stairs. It was Aki, an intimidating elderly man with graying hair that was always pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He wore a grave expression, and met Sam's eyes and shrugged.

"We do not know what has happened to her. She's holding on, though."

"Will she wake up soon?" Jacob asked.

Aki shrugged, "We are not sure."

"Have you tried waking her up yet? She can tell us what happened," Jared chimed in.

"We saw what happened, dude. It didn't touch her." Embry said.

"Well then someone needs to fucking tell me what happened," Paul growled, "because as soon as I know she's okay, I'm heading out and not coming back till that leech is dead."

"Don't you have your own imprint, Paul?" Jacob spat as he turned on his heel.

Paul crossed his arms and glowered at him. "She's my sister. It's my duty to protect her."

"Yeah? Well she's my fuckin' imprint. Back off, okay? I don't need your shit right now."

Sam held up his hand, "Shut your mouths. Aki, is she going to be okay?"

The grim Elder nodded, "She will be, for now."

* * *

Ahala was standing stark naked in the middle of an empty forest now.

She swayed on her feet, staring dead on ahead with a placid expression that was periodically disturbed by a twitch. She was watching nothing, feeling nothing, being nothing; she could see thoughts and emotions rolling through her mind, recognizing the situation and fighting, but the important parts of her were detached. It was better this way, or at least, she thought.

Something moved in her peripheral vision, and her head snapped towards it automatically. She watched with glowing silver eyes (the eyes of a monster), muscles tensed in an attacking motion and teeth pressed against her lower lip in a feral gesture. It took her no time to find the moving object, and with no struggle, she shed her skin and was a wolf once again.

Her prey was crying and running, losing ground fast. Ahala felt a sick, sadistic joy in the way her teeth caught the pants of their jeans, the way they were brought to a complete stop and slammed against the hard-packed ground, and especially the way her teeth tore into the fat and muscle of a skinny leg.

To her left, a stone cave emerged from the mist, and with a joyful growl, she dragged Bella Swan towards it.

* * *

"Her eyes are fluttering,"

"She's dreaming."

* * *

Ahala stared into Jacob's eyes. They were brown, beautiful as ever; filled with lust.

She felt his masculine hand slide up the back of her thigh to her waist, where he stuffed a dollar bill. She smiled, and expertly, she leaned into him, letting her hands slide down his torso to his hips, where she discretely felt around in his pockets. It was an empty gesture; habitual.

She was still empty, but this was a role; she had to play the role.

* * *

**A/n - **I swear, this will make sense eventually. Hopefully the title of the chapter will give it away.

As always, review!


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